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bleechers's Blog

by bleechers from Greensboro

Last Post 5 days, 5 hours Ago


COPS is a Great Show

I really like the show COPS. I support the police and I greatly appreciate what they do. However, if you watch that show you'll notice a pattern, the Police tend to show up after the rape, robbery, murder, etc. They spend their time listening to stories and/or taking pictures of victims. The Police go after criminals, they don't stand in front of us like bodyguards.

The Police cannot possibly prevent all crimes. The crimes they usually prevent are the result of their diligent work in capturing a criminal after he has committed a crime against someone else. We encourage women to attend self defense classes as we demonize anyone desiring to defend himself with a legally purchased weapon. The idea in both cases is the disabling of the perpetrator and the preservation of the victim.

Surely we understand that not all weapons are necessary for self-defense, but that is not the equivalent of restricting any gun ownership or depending on the government for all protection. We must start the conversation from the position that law-abiding citizens have a right to defend their families and property and that such defense necessarily involves gun ownership to some degree. The benefit of the doubt must start with the citizens and with an understanding of the basic right of self -defense


Foolish Responses to Tragedy

I worked at an institution of higher education during the Virginia Tech crime spree. We were a small campus that was essentially open to the community around it. I happened to work with a man who was armed and well-trained in the use of his weapons. I knew that if anything would happen on our campus, I at least had someone there who had a means of defending me. He also told me about several other people who had legally concealed weapons.

After the VT crimes, in a move made purely for political reasons, the administration banned all guns from our campus. The few people who were trained and licensed to confront a madman with a gun were left impotent. The new rules made us all sitting ducks. The campus became a "defense free" zone.

Why anyone would believe that a madman intent on destruction would be stopped by a "No Guns on Campus" sign is beyond reason. The only ones who have been stopped are the members of the community who love the students there and those who have been charged by their parents with their safety. The few unstable people out there who manage to arm themselves are far outnumbered by sensible and conscientious Americans intent on protecting themselves and those around them. Disarming the latter group makes no sense.


Ban All Fire Extinguishers!

I realize that the analogy is not perfect, but taking guns out the hands of the law-abiding citizenry is akin to taking fire extinguishers out of our hands so we can leave fire fighting "to the professionals." The best way to defend family and property against fire damage involves more than having a phone programmed to 911 nearby.

If we come to a place in which we accept the idea that the government has the ability to deny self-defense to its citizens, we will find ourselves calling the police to take pictures of our broken furniture, our dented cars and our deceased loved ones. I realize that not all crime problems are solved by armed citizens, but at least we won't have to sit around and wait for the local police photographer.
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Member Comments Total Comments: 17
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Just-Me-07 read my blog
Apr 6, 2008 | 7:09 PM

I agree that taking guns away from law abiding citizens is best way to give the criminals the upper hand. I am waiting for someone that has a concealed carry permit to get hurt in a place that bans firearms. If that person sues the owner of the business, the owneer better hope that I am not on the jury. If you refuse to allow me to protect myself, then you better be able to protect me while I am on your property.

UncommonValor
Apr 6, 2008 | 8:30 PM

I am sorry; however, I, like the criminals, ignore any signs that say I cannot bring my weapon inside. Anyway, they cannot see it and will not know of it anyway unless I need to use it and then they will probably be so thankful that they will forget that I violated their sign.

mrmajestic read my blog view my photos
Apr 6, 2008 | 9:11 PM

Having the conceal/carry permit, comes with the knowledge of where you can and where you cannot carry protection. Any other type business that restricts my ability to protect myself, typically gets no business from me. I hope to God I never have to use my weapon on another human being, for you'd second guess your decision the rest of your life. As I see it, the only option of the "rest of your life" is protection.

mayberryman
Apr 7, 2008 | 9:51 AM

As an employee on a college campus, the open nature of the college campus makes it rather easy to perpetrate a VT-like tragedy. But carrying a concealed weapon isn't the answer. Look at it this way--if faculty/staff at, say, WFU are allowed to carry weapons, and a shooter opens fire at the school, and SWAT responds, how do those SWAT team members distinguish good guys from bad? If 40 people are all carrying guns and 39 of them are NOT the shooter, what are the odds the SWAT team gets the right person? Wouldn't the odds be greater that SWAT would shoot one of the "good guys" by mistake?

HankHill read my blog
Apr 7, 2008 | 12:54 PM

My thinking on this is that the shooter will be down and out prior to the arival of SWAT and 80% of those killed at VT are still alive.
I guess the question really comes down to, are you willing to fight for your life? The bigger question is are you willing to fight for someone else's life? The final choices are of course to decide if you run or hide and wait for the shooter to blow you away?
I just have a different opinon on this one mayberryman.

gadget410 read my blog view my photos
Apr 7, 2008 | 1:28 PM

Hank is correct the only thing needed will be the coroner, it would be over before the 9-1-1 operator would have had time to dispatch anyone the shooter would be down. I have been through CCW training also and afterwards when the police do arrive you are prepared to surrender and be arrested until they sort out what has happened and like Hank said they will not need all of the body bags. I believe that the events would be much less likely to occur because criminals and people with the mindset to do violent actions with a firearm go to places where the odds of their success will be high, usually places that post no weapons concealed or otherwise and like mr.majestic I don't do business with that store, and if I did and something were to happen, as I understand it from some or my lawyer friends, I would have a good lawsuit unless they had armed security of there own. The way I understand it is that a store that posts no weapons or concealed carry signs is guaranteeing the safety of it's patrons with reasonable security, if the don't have their own guards or security officers and won't let you protect yourself, the posting of a sign is not considered to be reasonable security. The criminals already know this and many times act on it.

bleechers read my blog view my photos
Apr 7, 2008 | 5:51 PM

mayberry, I don't think you give SWAT teams a lot of credit. I think they'd be able to discern the maniac. In your scenario, if the shooter was outnumbered 39-1 he'd either be apprehended, discouraged or dead long before SWAT had make any determinations.

I was at a Journey concert in 87 when some kook threw something at the stage. Immediately 95 fingers were pointing at the idiot.

In any case, the shooter is assured of his safety on the "defense free" campus as he continued his rampage. The sitting ducks wouldn't have a similar assurance.

mayberryman
Apr 9, 2008 | 10:11 PM

Hi guys--actually, the post I put down was one that I culled from a buddy of mine--a SWAT team member. That was HIS idea, and I just paraphrased it. Either way, as a gun owner, I'm just not sure guns--regardless of who is carrying them--have a place in the classroom.

gadget410 read my blog view my photos
Apr 11, 2008 | 1:30 AM

Mayberry, so how would you make it safer for students and faculty. I have read that N.C. is working on a form that we will be given later this year that basically states in the event of a terrorist incident or act of violent domestic assault the life insurance will not pay off. the safest way is to allow faculty to be able to act as security as well. If you keep the potential threat unsure of who is and isn't armed that doubt may prevent the attack or at least make the attack much less successful.I would like to hear of better ideas if anyone has them.....don't say armed security at ever school campus.....while a great idea there is no money in the budget to allow the hiring of such officers.

mayberryman
Apr 11, 2008 | 9:54 AM

Hi gadget, hope things are going well for you. I think there are a lot of common sense types of things we could do. For example, at the CC I teach at, the classroom doors are solid-core oak, but we cannot lock them. There is only one way in and one way out. So if a gunman were to place himself/herself between the students and the door, it's fish in a barrel. This was the situation at tech--the gunman just turned the knob and walked right in. The college is at a turning point--do we remain the open, free learning environment that the college has traditionally been, or do we become a locked and armed camp? I'm not sure what the answer is, but I'm willing to entertain suggestions...

mayberryman
Apr 11, 2008 | 2:09 PM

As an amendment to your idea, gadget, I'm not sure the uncertainty of who is and isn't armed will be a deterrent. I mean, the Columbine shooter, the VT shooter, the kid that shot up the mall in the midwest--all of these guys killed themselves. If they are, in fact, ready to die, the threat of being shot by a faculty member may not persuade them not to do this.

ladyred2007 read my blog view my photos
Apr 11, 2008 | 4:55 PM

On our campus, weapons have been banned since I have been employed there. I understand why guns are not allowed on our campus. Can you imagine the jealous boyfriend who walks into his girl's dorm room and she is with someone else? Can you just imagine allowing college students who are drunk and arguing to be armed with a gun? I can't. You can't pick and choose who can carry a weapon on a campus.
Actually, I thought all learning institutions had weapons bans. It is against the law to carry a gun on school property, thought. I guess I was mistaken?

mayberryman
Apr 14, 2008 | 12:28 PM

No, you aren't mistaken, ladyred2007--it is absolutely against the law to possess a weapon on campus, whether you are a student or a facutly/staff member. With that said, the state of Utah has enacted legislation that allows for concealed weapons on campus. Brave, new world...

gadget410 read my blog view my photos
Apr 14, 2008 | 2:31 PM

Ladyred and Mayberry, and exactly who guarantees that no one on campus has those weapons? The CC in which I work for doesn't check anyone. The high school and grade school across the road also has no one who checks. They may have a resource officer and we have a campus police force but there is no way they could begin to cover the entire campus and students. Oh, they do have up signs "Weapon Free and Drug Free Zone" but without enforcement simply words that only honest and law abiding people will follow in the first place. I also would not allow anyone who has not undergone all of the requirements for a Concealed Carry Weapons Permit to carry a gun on campus. I agree that most of the shooters were intent on killing themselves but they wanted to take as many innocent lives as possible before they did. If just one person who had met all of the CCW requirements had been able to have their gun there the loss of life would have been far less or not at all because these cowards would not look so big and bold to others who think about doing the same act. I would like to see a headline like this "School gunman rampage stopped by armed teachers, gunman's life only casualty" but I know in this liberal society it will probably never happen. I remember the negative comments I had to put up with when I got my permit, yet as was predicted by some there has not been people with CCW permits shooting people in the streets like the old west.

DW45 read my blog view my photos
Apr 15, 2008 | 5:28 AM

Of course, we should ban pencils, too...after all they DO cause misspelled words.....

mayberryman
Apr 16, 2008 | 12:21 PM

But again, what do you do with someone who has this hero complex, gadget? If there are 80 people on campus and one of them is the shooter, and this shooter begins his/her rampage in building A, and all the armed students/tachers/administrators rush from building B, C, D, and E to stop them, how do you, as one of the heroes, tell who the shooter is? You now have 79 law-abiding heroes who can't tell each other apart. And the advantage goes to shooter...

gadget410 read my blog view my photos
Apr 18, 2008 | 4:04 PM

I don't think you would see it happen like this. The BLEEP you see in the movies is just that, in reality I would not rush to see if I could find a shooter and I don't think you would find very many of your "Hero complexes" if you had been through some of the CCW training they do a pretty good job of explaining the laws and what you can and cannot do. The people in the classes are also responsible and must go through pretty extensive background checking and i just don't believe that the scenario you describe would occur. If a situation where a shooter he/she comes to my room/building at least I could have the ability and a chance to defend myself, as it stands now I have none. The idea that the person you may be trying to do harm to could be armed still makes me think it could be a deterrence, the cowards in the mall shooting, Virginia Tech and in Columbine were just that "cowards" in a situation where the odds were not on their side and they might not get their satisfaction of revenge before killing themselves, they might not have tried in the first place.

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bleechers

I enjoy such diverse topics as baseball, history, politics, TV, music, cartoons, pop culture and theology. I am particularly drawn to the Revolutionary period of American history. I attended Page HS and graduated from UNCG. I have played for a number of years in the local music scene and I still record and play original music. I'm an Italian-American, bass-playing Phillies fan father of four!

Member Since: 2/24/2008