rainbowbob
Member
The following is a link to the "Police Link" website and an excerpt from an article by a retired cop on the issue of citizen CCW.
The story, and the comments that follow on the website, are very positive. Preaching to the choir, perhaps, but good to know that a large number of LEOs - even in Chicago - support arming well-trained citizens.
http://policelink.monster.com/train..._source=nlet&utm_content=pl_c1_20100810_armed
Cops and Armed Citizens
By Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith
Sergeant Betsy Brantner Smith is a 29-year veteran of a large Chicago suburban police department.
The story, and the comments that follow on the website, are very positive. Preaching to the choir, perhaps, but good to know that a large number of LEOs - even in Chicago - support arming well-trained citizens.
http://policelink.monster.com/train..._source=nlet&utm_content=pl_c1_20100810_armed
Cops and Armed Citizens
By Sgt. Betsy Brantner Smith
Sergeant Betsy Brantner Smith is a 29-year veteran of a large Chicago suburban police department.
The whole citizen carry issue, often mixed in with the broader debate over “gun control” in general, has been terribly politicized and the debate rages on to this day. Yes, the United States is the leader in “per capita gun deaths among industrial nations,” a statistic that gun control advocates love to throw around. However, as most cops will tell you, the issue is a whole lot more complicated. One of the best resources out there is John Lott’srecently updated book “More Guns, Less Crime.” Basically, Lott concluded in an 18 year study that states who allowed citizens to carry concealed weapons saw violent crime goes down. Pretty logical stuff; the more law abiding citizens who train and arm themselves, the less victims we have. He has continued to study this issue objectively but passionately; every crimefighter should read his work.
My adopted home town, the city of Chicago, is a perfect example of Lott’s conclusions. We’re averaging 20 – 40 shootings a weekend, three Chicago cops have been killed this year, off duty, since May, and yet Chicago has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation! Who’s got the guns? The cops and the bad guys; and frankly, the cops tend to be out-numbered and often out-gunned. All the gun laws in the world aren’t going to keep thugs from owning, carrying and using firearms, so all the City of Chicago is doing is keeping law abiding citizens from legally obtaining personal protection firearms.