From: James Rogers (jamesr@best.com)
Date: Thu Apr 20 2000 - 10:48:33 MDT
On Thu, 20 Apr 2000, Zero Powers wrote:
>
[...snip Michael Lorrey's details of the CCW application process...]
>
> Are you kidding me? This is supposed to convince me that people who carry
> guns are the most "squeaky clean and non-violent people" in society? That,
> as you like to say, is rich!
Private citizens who have CCW permits are statistically among the least
likely individuals to commit a violent crime, and many times less likely
to commit a violent crime than a police officer in most locales. In
fact, individuals who don't even own a gun are more likely to commit a
violent crime than a CCW holder in most cases. The CCW process pretty much
selects for responsible, law-abiding citizens. And it takes very little
for the sheriff to revoke it once it has been issued.
With such an excellent record, it is no wonder that CCWs are being offered
in more and more places; you are statistically much safer around a CCW
holder with a gun than a police officer with a gun. You may find it
incredible, but CCW holders really do represent one of the most upstanding
segments of society.
> Clue: the cops who killed Amadou Diallo and the cops who sodomized Abner
> Louima and the cops in LA's Rampart Precinct who apparently routinely
> framed, beat and shot innocent people *all* passed the same sort of
> background test you're talking about.
How much of a background check cops actually have to go through varies
from barely any to extensive depending on the locale. Like politics, the
people who are actually interested in being cops are usually the least
suited. These are not the same kind of people who hold CCWs.
-James Rogers
jamesr@best.com
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