Cedar Rapids Gazett op ed on CCW

[Anvilbrother 0]

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Not using your weapon hand in the expectation that you will get to justifiably kill someone IS paranoia.

Once again your taking it literally as I have explained before. Consciously not holding things if you do not have to in your gun hand is not being paranoid. Your taking it as the guy NEVER ever touches anything in his gun hand, he doesn't even piss or wipe with it, which is absurd. What he was trying to say i think which has been taught to all officers is to keep your hands free and at the ready if at all possible. Just like you keep your shirt tucked in so it does not flip up on a jump and you cant reach your handles. We still wear shirts, and still have handles, we have just found a way to make sure its readily accessible.

Postes r made from an iPad or iPhone. Spelling and gramhair mistakes guaranteed move along,

[rushmc 23]

billvon

>And of course you dont care about what other jumpers on the plane are planning to do
>as you know all will be ok

Watching the careless freeflyers in the back of the plane to make sure they will not snag their handles - probably wise

Thinking the two freeflyers are evil predators who would probably murder you unless you had a gun - probably paranoid

More paranoia

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Retired U.S. Customs agent Thomas Schenk returned to his home in Amboy, Wash. to find it ransacked. Schenk, a Right-to-Carry permit holder, drew a gun, searched the house, and found a man in his living room. The intruder spotted the Schenk, fled to a bedroom and pointed a gun at the former agent. A shootout ensued that eventually moved outside the home and prompted the criminal to flee. Police captured the thief several days later. Following the incident, Schenk told a local media outlet, “I spent 25 years as a federal agent and had occasionally drawn my weapon under various circumstances, but never had to fire it… To have to fire in my own home, it was just hard to fathom.” Schenk added, “We all get lulled into a false sense of security and if nothing happens, that's great… But in the event something does occur, nowadays you can't trust that everything is going to be all right. I'm thankful I was able to refer to my training and keep a clear head.” (The Oregonian, Portland, Ore. 01/05/15)

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[SkyDekker 1,465]

A shootout that ended outside, with nobody hurt and the suspect fled is a good outcome?

Sounds like the same outcome could have been had without bullets flying and the risk of hitting innocent bystanders.

[rushmc 23]

SkyDekker

A shootout that ended outside, with nobody hurt and the suspect fled is a good outcome?

Sounds like the same outcome could have been had without bullets flying and the risk of hitting innocent bystanders.

Or a moose could fall on them.....

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[craigbey 0]

The writer is just as entitled to her paranoia as the guy with the gun and just as entitled to express her concerns.

The guy with the gun is certainly within his rights to carry, but having lived in Cedar Rapids for over 40 years, I don't believe it is necessary for personal protection.

http://thegazette.com/subject/opinion/blogs/lynda-waddington/why-your-gun-makes-me-nervous-20150110

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There’s a mantra quickly repeating in my head: “Please have a badge. Please have a badge. Please have a badge.” It’s a steady heartbeat as I begin a conversation with a shop clerk and reposition myself so I can peer over her shoulder.

I’ve already seen the bulge in his jacket, and it’s clear from the size and shape that he has a holstered gun. Now my eyes are quickly scanning, hoping to find a law enforcement badge clipped to his belt.

I’m in a local bookstore and there’s a sticker near the door asking patrons not to carry weapons on the premises. My two children scurried off the moment we entered, each in search of their own treasures.

The man with the weapon is as interested with the bookstore patrons as he is with the books on display. I’ve watched him watch others. The way he tracks them is unnerving.

I do not know this man, have no knowledge of his profession, personality or character. I am unaware of his mental state, of why he feels the need to carry a weapon into a bookstore. Frankly, I’m not that interested in his reasons right now. My mind is too busy filtering through the various scenarios that could be taking place. They flick before me like movie trailers, and I watch, casting some aside and mentally marking others for further consideration.

There’s no badge — at least not one I can see. And my inspection of him has not gone unnoticed. I rotate my handbag so that more of it rests toward the front of my body and gently pat it. It’s a tell by women who are packing heat in their purse. Many do it without thinking, a subtle check of hard steel through the leather. My touch is greeted by the bristles on my hairbrush, but no one else knows that.

The man recognizes the gesture, his eyes briefly flicking to my own before he moves past us in the aisle.

I still don’t know him, and the movie trailers increase. He could be the stalker, searching for his mark. He could be contemplating a robbery, or seeking someone to abduct. He could be an off-duty police officer, or even one that is undercover. He could be paranoid, thinking the world is out to get him or knowing someone truly is. He could be a fugitive, a drug dealer, a rapist or the owner of a sporting goods store. He could be a million things.

Thanking the clerk, I walk toward the YA section and my children. We won’t be spending money in this store today. We will be leaving as quickly as I can get them through the door, away from the man.

Although he is unknown to me, I do know Iowa’s lackluster gun laws and that they offer no assurances. While law enforcement officers have been trained with their weapons, civilians handed licenses to carry weapons in Iowa need not have ever touched, much less fired a weapon.

Mandated classes do not teach those who carry to use, nor do they assess accuracy or respect.

I do not know the last time the weapon in the man’s holster was maintained, and state law provides no assurances he knows how to maintain it.

As we leave, I am angered by lawmakers and gun advocates who preach blind trust in the same breath as they extol the dangers of society as their reason for needing to carry a weapon in a bookstore.

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

Interesting.

How did she know he wasn't a cop?
Because she couldn't see a badge on his belt?

Most cops I know don't wear it where it can be seen when in plain clothes. Especially off duty.

And the standard assumption that all cops are expert with their weapons while civilians are untrained idiots is funny too.
Both groups have individuals all the way across the spectrum (from expert to "shouldn't even touch a gun")

And I love how she won't be spending money in the store (that is posted prohibited) because there was a guy with a gun in it.

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[rushmc 23]

I lived there for 5 years and I tend to agree
However
The retired cop never fired his gun for the entire 25 years he worked.

Didnt need a gun until at home one night
I have only needed my reserve once
Glad I had it

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[jakee 1,595]

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So preparing for a situation in which you could die by fire is ok, but preparing for a situation in which you could be robbed, beaten, stabbed or shot is considered paranoid?

There's a difference between preparation and paranoia just as there's a difference between cleanliness and obsessive compulsive disorder.

He doesn't just carry a gun, he never has anything in the hand he would use it with.

He's not just aware of his surroundings, he thinks that he sees people every single day that would be committing assault or armed robbery if he wasn't there.

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In 2011 14,748 people were murdered in the us. Only 3005 people died in fires, so how is it not crazy to be prepared for one, but not the other that kills almost five times more people?

If this guy viewed fire in the same way he views criminals he would check the batteries in every smoke detector, every day, in every building he walked into and then write an article about how complacent everyone else is when it comes to combustion. Would that be normal?

Do you want to have an ideagasm?

[D22369 0]

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I do not know this man, have no knowledge of his profession, personality or character. I am unaware of his mental state, of why he feels the need to carry a weapon into a bookstore. Frankly, I’m not that interested in his reasons right now. My mind is too busy filtering through the various scenarios that could be taking place. They flick before me like movie trailers, and I watch, casting some aside and mentally marking others for further consideration.

There’s no badge — at least not one I can see. And my inspection of him has not gone unnoticed. I rotate my handbag so that more of it rests toward the front of my body and gently pat it. It’s a tell by women who are packing heat in their purse. Many do it without thinking, a subtle check of hard steel through the leather. My touch is greeted by the bristles on my hairbrush, but no one else knows that.

The man recognizes the gesture, his eyes briefly flicking to my own before he moves past us in the aisle.

I find it interesting that she questions his need/motives to carry and then signaling that she is armed while not actually carrying.

what did she think would happen if he was intent on robbing the place? did it even occur to her that she just put herself at the top of the threat list with no way to defend herself?

sounds like she has watched too many tv shows and has a slight paranoia problem - she sounds like the type of person who would be very scary to be around if she actually did carry.

Roy

They say I suffer from insanity.... But I actually enjoy it.

[SkyDekker 1,465]

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I find it interesting that she questions his need/motives to carry and then signaling that she is armed while not actually carrying.

what did she think would happen if he was intent on robbing the place? did it even occur to her that she just put herself at the top of the threat list with no way to defend herself?

sounds like she has watched too many tv shows and has a slight paranoia problem - she sounds like the type of person who would be very scary to be around if she actually did carry.

I think you might be focussing on a tree and missing the forrest.

[rushmc 23]

SkyDekker

Quote

I find it interesting that she questions his need/motives to carry and then signaling that she is armed while not actually carrying.

what did she think would happen if he was intent on robbing the place? did it even occur to her that she just put herself at the top of the threat list with no way to defend herself?

sounds like she has watched too many tv shows and has a slight paranoia problem - she sounds like the type of person who would be very scary to be around if she actually did carry.

I think you might be focussing on a tree and missing the forrest.

It has been suggested (In the Cedar Rapids area) that she works for Bloomburg

"America will never be destroyed from the outside,
if we falter and lose our freedoms,
it will be because we destroyed ourselves."
Abraham Lincoln

[D22369 0]

I don't think so (but have been wrong before)

it was just the part that I found really interesting


Roy

They say I suffer from insanity.... But I actually enjoy it.