Tuesday, September 11, 2007

I'll Contact You, Tom

There are some gun rights advocates I hear from whenever they read about a citizen using a gun to thwart a criminal.

They love those stories. Some especially love it when the good guy has a concealed firearm permit. Such accounts prove that just about everyone who isn't a criminal should carry a gun, they tell me.

But none have contacted me about the arrest of concealed weapons permit holder Albert H. Rudolph III, who police say pulled a .45-caliber semi-automatic out of his shirt at Patrick's, a downtown Sarasota restaurant.

So for you, one anecdote about alleged misuse is enough to render everyone else who didn't behave irresponsibly defenseless? Because as we've seen time and again, only the authorities and their enforcers possess sufficient powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men to be trusted with a gun?

I've just provided you a link to thousands of examples of abuses by government authorities you so obviously hold in such esteem, Tom. And here's the thing--I don't even make an effort to look for these stories--and in fact, I don't comment on but a fraction of them since I could literally be doing nothing else. Just do a news search on the term "gun" every day and you'll be virtually tripping all over them.

You, in turn, give us one example, and suggest policy change affecting everyone to be the desired outcome. Fess up, Tom--don't you "especially love it when the good guy has a concealed firearm permit" and then abuses it? So why is it this is the first time you've had occasion to rant on the subject and you couldn't resist jumping on it? Could it be because it's so rare you've never had the opportunity to exploit it before--or is it just that you objective "authorized journalists" (another category I literally have to wade through every day) aren't doing your job and finding these stories for your readers?

If a fair-minded person were to look at the preponderance of problems reported by your own profession, Tom, which group do you think it would say poses the greatest danger to the public: the authorities you think are so much more trustworthy with guns than "ordinary" citizens, or concealed permit holders?

And as for guns and booze under the same roof? You might as well just cut to the chase and ban either firearms or alcohol, then (why not both?), because the home--you know, the place where most domestic violence situations and suicides occur--often has both present. And did you know that the suicide rate for law enforcement is about twice that of the general population, and that "Domestic violence is almost four times more likely to occur in police families"?

Don't believe me? Ask your colleagues---they're the ones filing stories on these numbers, and you guys always take pains to make sure what you're reporting is fair, balanced and accurate, right?

And incidentally: unless it had been discharged, it was a "cartridge" or a "round" that "fell to the floor," not a "bullet." Here's a resource you can consult if you're ever unsure about the difference in the future.

Liberal editorial writers. Is there anything they don't know?

We're the Only Ones Gun Running Enough

An Ekurhuleni metro police officer has been arrested for the second time in less than a year for suspected gun-running...

Constable Richard Msibi, who is in his 50s, was allegedly caught red-handed selling ammunition at the Wattville/Actonville hostel. He was in full metro police uniform at the time and was travelling in his own car.

They'd caught the guy before not only with "illegal guns" but with counterfeit money and he bribed his way out. And he's so confident his corruption will be tolerated he doesn't even bother to remove his uniform--there's respect for the law being promoted for you. Yep, sure looks like only government officials and their enforcers possess all the qualifications to be "The Only Ones," alright...

Frankly Speaking, Mayor Jackson, You're a Liar

Mayor Frank Jackson has called for the Ohio General Assembly to pass a law banning anyone under the age of 21 from possessing a firearm...

"Right now, if a young person was walking down any Ohio street brandishing an assault weapon, the police could not arrest him for that," said Mayor Jackson.

As long as you're playing the demographics card, Frank, care to narrow it down to that segment of people under 21 where the overwhelming number of "cross-fire gun battles" originate from?

No? Too politically untouchable for you?

OK, then I've got an easier task. Do you have any "young persons" in your family, mayor?

Give one of them an "assault weapon" and have them walk down the streets "brandishing an assault weapon" in the neighborhood where you're performing your latest blood dance. Don't tell the police you're doing this, because we want the experiment to reflect an influence-free outcome.

If you actually believe this latest line of crap you're getting the "authorized journalists" to parrot unchallenged for you, you should have no problem walking the walk--or letting a young loved one do it for you.

Or forget young people. Dress down to where you're not easily recognized and try it yourself--and don't tell the responding officers who you are. And don't forget to--what was the word you deliberately chose?--brandish.

If you're not willing to do this because you think there might be some life-endangering risk involved, how dare you risk the lives of young adults under 21 by coercing them into defenselessness--ultimately under force of arms?

We're the Only Ones Not Trained to Do Our Jobs Enough

"Forty percent of them (inmates) have serious mental problems and we're dealing with them from a law enforcement point of view, we're not trained to deal with them mentally." said Summit County Sheriff Drew Alexander, who neither condemned nor condoned his deputies' actions.

Why aren't you trained if that's your responsibility and you're accepting paychecks? And how much training do you need to know you're not supposed to gang up and beat a man to death?

[More from "The Only Ones" Files]

This Day in History: September 11

September 11, 1776 - A peace conference is held on Staten Island with British Admiral, Lord Richard Howe, meeting American representatives including John Adams and Benjamin Franklin. The conference fails as Howe demands the colonists revoke the Declaration of Independence.