I love autumn. Spring is nice, but it reminds me of Sunday afternoon: It's very pleasant, but you know next up is Monday morning. Yuck! But autumn, autumn is like Friday afternoon. You know the full weekend lies ahead. :)
* We even named one of our companies "Autumn Investments". Now that's hard core right there!
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Lets talk guns: I'm baffled by all the paranoia about licensed concealed firearms. The big push for concealed carry in my state (Texas) came after a mass shooting in a Luby's cafeteria in Kileen, TX in 1991. A deranged man crashed his truck into the cafeteria during lunchtime, then walked table to table, shooting 50 people, killing 23. It was pointed out that just one properly trained and armed person might have been able to neutralize the shooter and save many of those victims.
The public's knee-jerk reaction to concealed carry was there would be "blood in the streets". As we now know, that did NOT prove to be the case. The behavior of concealed handgun license holders (CHL) has been statistically MUCH better than the population as a whole.
And I really don't understand why businesses would post signs on their doors saying they prohibit CHL holders from bringing their firearms inside. By doing so they are specifically taking responsibility for the safety of their patrons. Deny a CHL holder the ability to protect himself, he's yours.
A CHL holder has undergone extensive classroom training as well as gun safety and must pass a live shooting test. He has submitted him/herself to being fingerprinted and photographed, and he has undergone a lengthy (roughly 4-6 week) background check.
Think about it....if you are a business owner, who would you want standing across the counter from you? That properly trained and vetted CHL holder, or some guy off the street you know absolutely nothing about?
IMO, we need to quit wasting our time and energy trying to keep guns away from us all. They're here now, and they aren't going away. I would like to see enough citizens properly licensed to carry that bad guys would have to think twice about who to rob, mug, or rape.
We need to support those who are willing to undergo the scrutiny and training, and concentrate on identifying and getting help to those among us who are mentally ill. And slamming those who are walking around illegally armed. They are the real problem.
S
What you are asking for requires some gun control. Licenses, testing, background checks etc. I agree, but not sure very many gun owners will go against their knee jerk reaction against gun control. Maybe we should re-name it as Anti-out-of-control-gun laws.
ReplyDeleteWe have some gun control now. We just don't enforce it. Why pass MORE laws when we don't enforce what we have now? I agree...slam those who are walking around armed illegally.
DeleteIf the threat of people having guns actually was a deterrent no one would rob banks in the middle of the day. The idea of some lone citizen bravely taking down a shooter is a pipe dream from watching too many John Wayne and Clint Eastwood movies.
ReplyDeleteRespectfully disagree Pat. IMO in SOME instances it can save lives, and I'll take that.
DeleteOne of the men who tackled Jared Loughner was carrying a concealed handgun. He said later that he opted not to draw his weapon for two reasons. The first reason was that he was afraid he would hit innocent bystanders if his bullets should miss his intended target. The second reason was that he was afraid Police arriving on the scene would mistake him for the gunman.
ReplyDeleteIt's possible the Luby's gunman could have been stopped by an armed citizen. It's also possible that stricter gun laws would have prevented the shooter from having a gun in the first place. We don't know.
Everything in life involves a tradeoff of some sort. If you want ordinary citizens to have access to powerful firearms to stop crime, then the tradeoff is that some of those ordinary folks are going to snap someday and slaughter innocents. If you want gun control like England has, then the tradeoff is an increase in assaults and burglaries since criminals feel less deterred from committing the crime.
Personally, I'd rather take the risk of being punched in the face and having my wallet taken than shot in the head.
Will the CHLs wear big vests or other identifying clothing so that other CHLs will recognize them as the "good guys?" if trained, experienced police have difficulty telling passers-by from bad guys, how will CHLs tell?
ReplyDeleteI was not aware that anyone was spending time and energy to keep guns away from us all.
I'm with you on fall...it's my favorite season. Unfortunately, it doesn't exist in Florida. We have "almost summer," "summer," "still summer," and "Christmas."
:-)
Nope, CHL types look like wallflowers. You'll tell the bad guys when they walk in and say, "I'm taking your car, and your family will be my hostages". And is always one politician or another trying to pass laws to keep guns out of everyone's hands....except the bad guys. Bad guys, by definition, don't pay attention to laws.
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