Gun Sense

AlphaPatriot looks at the Kansas concealed carry victory, a truly stupid comment by a deputy police chief, and the cold, reassuring facts of concealed carry. Here's an excerpt:

And why do people think that putting a gun in a cop's hand is fine because they have half a college degree (54 hours, unless waived in lieu of military service) and went to an academy for 20 weeks, but putting a gun into the hand of an otherwise normal person will endanger everyone around them because they might "get mad" and suddenly start shooting?

And so I ask them, when was the last time that they were so angry at someone that, had they had a gun in their belt, they would have drawn and fired, killing that person. And when they say that they couldn't imagine being that angry, I ask them what it is about me that makes them think that I am so different from them.

I'm not, nor are the other millions of permit holders across this nation. Which is why, of the 1.1 million licenses issued in the last 19 years in Florida, only 2,976 of them have been revoked because of a crime. Basic math tells us that only 0.27 percent of carry permit holders end up committing a crime. Hmmm, I wonder how that compares to the crime rate of those who wear blue?

There are hyperlinks in that quote, but you'll have to read the post to get them.

I find myself in a strange position on this issue. I've never owned a gun, and only fired a couple in my lifetime. Given my neighborhood, I've considered buying one in recent years, but I always decide not to.

In small part because I suffer from depression. The deepest and scariest kind is years behind me now, but I still get to places where I can't remember what it's all for. It's probably better not to have such a dangerous tool like a gun at hand for me.

Although I have a kitchen full of very sharp knives.... Hmmm. Should I get rid of those too? What's the difference? I know where and how to cut so that I'll bleed out before an ambulance arrives. What's the difference here?

[Later insertion: Do not fear. I am not suicidal, OK? Nor morbid. Just talking about something I haven't really talked about here before. Again, fear not.]

I also worry about what kind of gun is a good trade off between stopping power and not firing missed shots through my floor into the first floor apartment below or through the thin walls into the neighbors next door. They have a young son.

I have no moral qualms about shooting an intruder, especially an armed one. None. But I do worry about the legal problems to follow. If I injure but do not kill the intruder will he sue me back?

Anyway, I don't exercise my 2nd Amendment rights, but I fully back them. It's true: an armed society is a polite society. We the people did not cede to the police our right to self-protection. They can't do it, certainly not in today's litigious and rights-sensitive world. I don't accept that I'm supposed to surrender my self-protection to them for my own good. It is what it has always been -- my job to take care of myself.

And I don't appreciate control-freak cops who want an unarmed society in order to make their jobs easier. There are other ways to do that. Like neighborhood policing, not approaching every civilian like they are a problem to be dealt with. Like de-criminalising a lot of stuff that should be handled by other parts of society -- like drugs and drug abuse. Like seeing citizens as allies instead of herds.

Anyway, read Alpha's post. It's very good.