Then let's punish criminals a whole lot harder than we do. But people don't want to get rid of the cancers.......they have rights too.
Then let's punish criminals a whole lot harder than we do. But people don't want to get rid of the cancers.......they have rights too.
Just wondering where Jemima went.........who originally started this thread.
if Britain can do it, it may take a 50 yrs or more, we can do it, too. But we don't want to.
The problem with punishing the criminals is the justice system itself. Crook (Cook) County has a long habit of plea bargaining away firearms charges. It's very common for a thug who shot someone/used a firearm in the commission of a crime to serve 1-2 years. Back out on the streets, he shoots someone again. Rinse and repeat. Those convicted of straw purchases (buying a firearm for someone who legally cannot own one) have recently gotten sentences of only 3-6 years.Originally Posted by CathyA
Then let's punish criminals a whole lot harder than we do. But people don't want to get rid of the cancers.......they have rights too.
What I find interesting after each of these events is that there isn't more outcry about the violence level in the big cities. Chicago is having a bang-up (pun intended) year for shootings and homicides. September had 62 homicides (all but 3 were shootings), the most for September since 2002. The level of aggressive policing that would be required to decrease it (stop and frisk, that sort of thing) would have the reverends and the BLM folks up in arms. The Crook County SA (a woman of Hispanic heritage) has been whining there are too many minorities in jail. We rarely hear from the reverends about the inner city violence. Jesse Jackson is based in Chicago and there's rarely a peep out of him abut it.
This website keeps track of the Chicago shooting/homicide numbers. http://heyjackass.com
The two previous weekends had around 50 people shot each weekend. Within the last week, a grandmother and her pregnant daughter were killed when five members of the same family were shot on the way back from a family gathering. The pregnant daughter's 11-month-old was also shot, but survived, as did two other adults.
The left gets up in arms about the mass shootings, but don't seem to give much of a flying fig at all about the numbers killed in the big cities.
When you've disarmed the law-abiding citizens, what do you propose to do with the thugs who still have guns?
Bingo. My pistol goes on in the morning, just like my bra and earrings. I have to disarm at work, but it's back on as soon as I'm in the car. The only places I disarm are those I have to by law (post office, hospital, library, etc.). I don't give my money to places posted as GFZ, as there are plenty enough places to go that aren't GFZ. If I'm dressed in an outfit that won't accommodate my 9mm on a belt (such as a dress), I have a dinky .380 that I wear in a bra holster. I even carry at church (not posted).
There are always people who have their head in the sand and refuse to even consider that something might happen. My priest is one of them. When I suggested at a parish council meeting (after the Charleston shooting) that there should be some sort of security plan, he actually laughed at me. Several others thought it was a good idea, but he refused to even discuss it. There are several police officers who are members, and he tells them he prefers them to disarm in church. That's how head in the sand he is. I ignore that and carry at church (even though he's told members he knows are shooters NOT to carry, the church isn't posted as a GFZ). Concealed is concealed, as the saying goes. By contrast, there is a small parish I visit sometimes. There are retired/active police officers and military who are members. They have a good plan in case of an active shooter, including who would go which way, and who would help the many seniors they have who have mobility issues. The priest welcomes me to carry.
Last edited by Tradd; 10-3-15 at 6:49pm.
I have no doubt that something might happen. And that's an ugly, scary feeling. I just feel that the average nice guy citizen is not equipped to improve a thug-involved situation, gun or no gun. Tradd, you would be the exception to my rule, because you clearly care - not just about your right to carry a gun, but your responsibility to perfect your target skills and observe the laws about gun ownership. I still don't know how you'd do under pressure, but at least you appear to have done everything in your power to be prepared. I would be less anti-gun if I could say the same about every dweeb in Arizona who wants to be Wyatt Earp.
Some people are wolves, more people are sheep. The rest of us are sheepdogs, we're there for you wherever we are, even if you don't appreciate it.
"Things should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." ~ Albert Einstein
Thank you, Kib. I'm a rare one in that I believe everyone with a CCL needs to have at least a safety class. The old timers are the ones who really scare me. I just sat down and added up how much training I've had. NRA Basic Pistol, 8 hours; IL CCL class, 8 hours (IL requires 16 hours, but I got credit for the NRA Basic Pistol class); Massad Ayoob (very well known trainer for LE and armed civilians) 20 hour class on the legalities of being an armed civilian + 20 hours live fire; 2 x 8 hours for Force on Force classes, using airlift pistols (great for simulating stress under fire), taught by local trainers who work with LE and serve on the state committee that works with schools for active shooter training; 4 hour weapons retention class (aka, how to keep your pistol if a bad guy tries to take it away from you).
Last edited by Tradd; 10-3-15 at 8:58pm.
I'm an old timer, don't be afraid. I carried a weapon every single day of my life between 1973 and 2005 (and still do at times), attending and conducting countless hours of training including live fire houses and more simulations than I could possibly remember. I'm currently a certified trainer for the ALiCE active shooter program (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) and routinely train my companies employees in a modified version.
The people I find most worrisome are the new CCW holders lacking a history of ongoing training coupled with the desire to let people know they're able to carry. To me, a weapon is a tool. I don't see many master carpenters bragging about their hammer. We old timers who carry for protection, mostly of others, don't either.
To another posters point, if she sees me in a supermarket she'll never know I'm carrying one of the tools of my trade and has no reason to worry about me. A sheepdog never harms the sheep.
"Things should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." ~ Albert Einstein
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