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Gunnery Network

My friend wrote me and said that I could discuss what officers who are pro-gun think about officers who are anti-gun. I gave that some thought and I've really only met ONE officer who was "anti-gun". I'll spare you my unflattering opinion of this officer but lets suffice it to say he was not very intelligent which is why his manipulation by the liberal left was so easily accomplished. If in fact there is such a thing as an anti-gun officer I can't fathom it. As a police officer my dealings with citizens who are armed have all been positive. When I do encounter an armed civilian, I usually tell them that I think it is a good idea for persons to have their own means of protection. I think most people assume that the PD will be anywhere and everywhere to protect them and as much as it pains me to say it, we just can't. Over and over again I see examples of how an armed citizen can easily deter a would be assailant. Every hardened crook I've ever met had only one real concept that directed their actions and that is their own gratification. They care only about what they want, what they see as important and to them harming innocent people to get what they want is just a by-product of their lives that is of no concern to them. For this reason, criminals don't want to encounter an armed citizen because if the crook gets himself shot all to pieces his criminal career is pretty much over. Their sense of self-preservation is overwhelming.

There have been a few times in my area when having a weapon drastically changed the role of the "victim". Last year, a little Korean woman came home in her brand new sports utility vehicle to find four suspects laying in wait for her in what we call a home invasion/carjacking scenario. These brazen crooks had no idea that this little lady was armed with a revolver and as they attempted to assault her, she opened fire, hitting one suspect several times. I heard the radio traffic as the incident unfolded and the crooks friends fled the scene with their wounded pal. The first officer to arrive advised that the suspects would not be hard to locate because of the substantial amount of blood at the scene. All of the suspects were later arrested at a nearby hospital. What strikes me as strange is that ninety-nine percent of the time, this is not the way it happens. Almost every night I hear a call of an armed robbery, a carjacking, a rape or a forcible assault.

Citizens with weapons don't worry me at all, criminals with weapons concern me on a nightly basis.

I would also like to point out how many times a criminal with gun will immediately surrender when an armed person arrives (officers or otherwise). This I have seen many times. Mark Barton shot and killed several unarmed civilians in Atlanta after he murdered his own family. You would think he had nothing in the world to fear but when the lookout came out that he was on the run and heavily armed, an officer located him behind a gas station and upon seeing the officer, Barton took his own life.

In closing, I'd just like to say that I really feel like the problem with guns in our society is that we are failing in every way to put those people who really need it away and in prison for long terms. Too many politicians want to pass more gun control laws for no other reason than to say they had a hand in it. EVERY time an officer arrests and disarms a criminal, that officer has put his/her life in danger to take that person off the street. Instead of plea-bargaining weapons charges or not prosecuting them the courts should put felons and violent criminals with guns away for as long as the law allows for and leave the good people alone. Crooks don't obey laws, good people do.

Thanks for listening for a minute and keep up the great work. I haven't had time to read all the articles yet but I intend to.