"I didn't want to be responsible for someone out there carrying a gun," former Torrance Police Chief Don Nash is quoted as saying in the article. He granted only one permit during 22 years as chief - to a South Bay prosecutor who had been threatened.But I'd sleep like a baby knowing some citizen had been brutally murdered instead. Besides, I haven't issued permits to these guys, or to these guys either, so what's the problem?
"The premise is that you assume some kind of responsibility," Nash added. "I didn't want it on my conscience if someone out there shot somebody."
And conversely, my conscience would be just fine had my prosecutor buddy shot someone, because he's an "Only One" just like me.
So how's the violent crime rate in Torrance? I think it's made the national news before...
ReplyDeleteWhat hyper-arrogance.
Probably the Torrance city fathers don't listen to the few people who do protest, like most places.
When the law -- and those who make and enforce it -- is stupid, it's up to us to be smart.
Resistance isn't futile, it's essential.
David, I generally try to keep my editor's disease in check on other people's blogs, but I think this word gone missing reversed your intended meaning: "I'd sleep like a baby knowing some citizen had been brutally murdered...."
ReplyDeleteI have two potential responses, DJM.
ReplyDeleteThe first is what I call the Brady approach: What? Huh? It says that. You must have misread it.
The second is the religious humility approach: The Persians always wove an intentional flaw in their carpets because since only Allah can create perfection, for man to attempt it would be blasphemous.
Whichever one works best for you is my story and I'm sticking to it.
"The first is what I call the Brady approach: What? Huh? It says that. You must have misread it."
ReplyDeleteHow in the hell do you get the Brady Bunch to respond at all?
I've been trying for 2 years on Helmke's blog and can only occassionly get Hamm's assistant monkey to say anything.
The true Brady approach is simply to delete the question and send it down the memory hole.
But I'd sleep like a baby knowing some citizen had brutally murdered instead.
ReplyDeleteSeems that it works that way also: both the victim and the murderer are citizens. And the chief's refusal to issue carry permits may well be a key element in the "successful" murder.
With 22 years as chief, I suspect there was at least one murder that was "successful" solely due to the chief's well known refusal to issue permits.
I live in Torrance. Most of the City is fairly good neighborhoods and the violent crime rate is also fairly low. Last year, Torrance was about number 43 on the list of safest cities in the US.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, some of the highest crime rate and most violent places in the country are less than a mile from the city limits. Wilmington, near the LA harbor is a place you don't want to go at night. Also close are Compton, Inglewood, and Los Angeles.
The state DOJ requires that permits be issued by the police chief where you live, not where you work. Spears, the plaintiff, works in Lynwood which is a very high crime rate area.
Since I live here, I'm going to be watching this case very closely.