CCW because of so many sex offenders?

TheGoodLife,

Interesting Topic.

First, I have and will advocate for anyone able to get their CCW. I did and do carry whenever possible. I've been CCW'ing for 14 years.

Second, I work in the correctional field and work with Sex Offenders (all types actually for 10 years). I can tell you without a doubt, that getting a CCW permit will in no way shape or form protect your children from pedophiles. Carrying a weapon will assist in defending you against an assault or attack or protect other from the same, by people who are or could be pedophiles/sex offenders, but it would be a stretch for me to connect that having a CCW will somehow shield my family from these people. Please don't draw that conclusion!

I reiterate and add what was said earlier in the thread...

Pedophiles and sex offenders are more likely to be people you know and trust than the "stranger danger" type of person who kidnapped the young girl in Idaho and more than likely killed her family.

Two great reads on the subject of how the "typical" high functioning sex offender behaves. One book is by Carla Van Dam, and the other by Anna Salter. In my experience, for every 1 semi-psycho grizzled power rapist there are 25 "average" looking and extremely likeable sex offenders whom you would never guess were able to do such things if you had a conversation with them. That is their skill...grooming adults, and then children.

Knowledge is power!

Mike

In my experience, for every 1 semi-psycho grizzled power rapist there are 25 "average" looking and extremely likeable sex offenders whom you would never guess were able to do such things if you had a conversation with them. That is their skill...grooming adults, and then children.

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How true! I used to work with a pedophile in a large office environment. He was a somewhat charming typical 'lonely guy', overweight, with no girlfriend, but many women & men who were friends...easy going, funny, etc. Then we found out he'd been arrested in a church youth group molestation case. I think he got 8 yrs in the state pen...None of us had a clue he was a pedophile. Luckily, at the time I knew him, I was childless!

Confront a sexual predator and he/she will most likely tear ass and run away. You won't need a gun.

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We need to differentiate between sexual predators and pedophiles, both of which are housed together on SO yards in AZ DOC. I am a Correctional Sergeant on an SO yard in AZ right now, and I can tell you, yes, a great number of pedophiles are the guy next door type, and usually not a physical threat to an adult, BUT, there are those who are not. Sexual predators hvae kidnapped, raped, tortured, set afire, and otherwise violently assault many women, and more recently, men. Yes, men are becoming a an increasing target of sexual assault, especially with recently released inmates. With the wide spread of AIDS, Hep C, and other lovely diseases inside prisons, this goes from assault to a deadly attack. Then, there are the smooth talkers...
They will take advantage of your weaknesses, either through simple physical assault, or worming thier way in to your house/confidance, to use you as they please, perhaps with date rape drugs, or other wonderful means.

I can tell you without a doubt, that getting a CCW permit will in no way shape or form protect your children from pedophiles.

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99 times out of 100 true, as very darn few pedophiles would try anything whatsoever if the parents are around! There have been very rare cases of breakins or attempted kidnappings foiled by armed citiens, and we would have to speculte if any of these were sexual predators stopped before they could do something.
Basic things will help your kids -
1. Stay involved in thier lives.
2. Teach them all the stranger dangers you can.
3. Beef up home security, in case it's your child at home alone.
4. Screen babysitters, gardeners, pool men, anyone who is given access to your home for any reason.
5. Dog. Big, protective dog. Get two.
6. Check your local PD website for the list of registered sex offenders in your area. Boy, will THAT shock you! Remember some areas have as little as 40% compliance with registration requirements.
7. Love your kids like there is no tomorrow - for some, there won't be, no matter what we do.

I absolutely agree with others who have stated that CCW will not protect my children from the 'typical' pedophile. I think the fact that my wife and I will pursue the CCW is going to keep our family, I hope, more alert, more aware of our surroundings, more aware of who is around us.

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Well said!

Too many sheeple who feel that the Government will cocoon them from cradle to grave, and not enough of us who realize that's impossible at best.

CCW is one way to learn a lot more about the (preventable and otherwise) hazards of our society, even if you never carry.

And, yes, that reviewer does sound like a perv.... But we also have to remember that what we see on the printed page (which kind of covers this media, too) may not include all the "clues" that a serious investigator (let alone us amateurs) would need. It's anybody's guess what the reviewer's mindset really is.

Adults sometimes do form harmless relationships that can be quite close. Usually family members - aunts & uncles, sometimes family friends. Parents and other responsible parties need to keep an eye on such things if there are any doubts at all, and common sense kind of rules out the camping trip sort of thing, but taking the kid(s) for ice cream may not be something to call the PD about.

At one time any neighborhood adult would likely be acceptable for things like that - a trip to the Dairy Queen, or to the range, for that matter. People are much more careful now - to some extent justifiably.

I think it's easier for these folks to network now than it used to be, too, which doesn't help at all.... And, in our sometimes "pressure cooker" society, people who have time to "be with" kids (Scoutmasters, YMCA volunteers, etc., as examples here), are rare enough that some are accepted rather uncritically. Parents seem to sign their kids up for all kinds of "activities" because a neighbor suggests them, too, and don't bother to do their "homework".

(If we rush to judgement of a possibly slanted review, we're really guilty of the same "anti" thing that we're fighting regarding firearms. If the reviewer comes out and says "doing little kids is good", that's an entirely different story....)

Slightly off topic: Here in OH, our Governor demanded that our Conceal Carry laws be such that folks who pick up a License can be named on web sites or in newspapers. A database of sex offenders was ordered removed from the web at his order....

TheGoodLife,

Glad you found the titles, I was tired last night and couldn't remember the names of the actual books. My wife was taught by Carla Van Dam in her graduate program, and Anna Salter is the most widely published clinician to date on the topic. I routinely train my staff on modules Van Dam writes when guarding against the sex offender's skill of "grooming." It is a criminogenic skill that actually transcends sex offending and into other types of criminals.

Van Dam writes that successful sex offenders have the following attributes:

1. Prefer the company of children over adults. (Adult grooming)
2. Will attempt to gain insider status, that is will come off being and feeling as if they are an old friend after a short period of time. (Adult grooming)
3. Will break physical boundaries with kids, tickling, hugging, sitting on laps, etc. (Child grooming)
4. Extremely helpful and willing to do anything asked of them(i.e. babysit, watch the kids...) and often show up unannounced. (Adult grooming)

There are more but these are an idea of what to look for. Now, any one of these may not be a red flag but use your judgement and don't feel bad to scrutinize everyone who comes in contact with your children.

What armoredman writes is good. I saw an updated list of registered sex offenders in my area and come to find out I have one living on the property that just touches the back area of my yard. I'm not overly kinked because of how we supervise our kids when they're in the backyard, but I do know he's there.

Get a sex offender registration list and you'd be suprised HOW MANY of them there are. Good luck and get your CCW! Mike

Armoredman's list is fine, but again, IT ISN'T STRANGERS who are most likely to molest children.

Sad to say, it's relatives, neighbors, "friends," clergy, scout masters, coaches and babysitters.

It's relatively easy to keep your children safe from the pool cleaners. It's the people who GAIN YOUR TRUST who are most often perpetrators.

I've known too many victims of child molestation. Relatives and highly trusted adults were uniformly the perpetrators.

Yes, he has an irrational anti-gun bias, but Gavin de Becker's The Gift of Fear, and to a lesser degree, Protecting the Gift, is a must-read for anyone who cares about their safety and those of the people they love. Just ignore the short anti-gun chapter in each book and learn from the rest.

shark bites are up somewhat as a trend (not enough to warrant media attention), but could be declining:
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/sharks/statistics/statsus.htm
fatal bites are not up and seem to be randomly placed between 0 and 3 per year in the US.

attacks on pregnant women for their unborn children are up apparently:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-04-14-c-section-kidnappings_x.htm
3 since 2003, 9 since 1987 so extremely rare so the increase could be statistically irrelevent.

as far as child molesters, the claim is that the number of cases has doubled from 1986 to 1993. But since this statistic is repeated without any backup by several sites whose existence depends on such increases I doubt the complete accuracy of those numbers. For example:
http://againstsexualabuse.org/docs/Ken FullerQandA.asp

For comparison, the US population increased by just under 10% from 1980-1990.

G

Exactly!

+1 Armoredman.

As far as not being violent, I'm not sure going into the details would be beneficial to this thread. With 3 sex offenders in my extended family, I've done a snotload of homework on this. And I'll leave it with the statement that physically overpowering with a weapon, or strength, is not the case in most of the cases I know of.

And none of that changes the fact that the A number one thing you can do for your kids is to follow the list Armoredman gave you. It's not only the best list I know of for preventing sexual abuse, it's also the best list I can think of to keep your kids out of gangs, away from drugs and alcohol abuse, and a dozen other life-destroying things.

So... +2 Armoredman. Thank you!

Thank you....

I deal with SOs on a pretty regular basis in my work as a lawyer, and a lot of them just have that "look"- hard to describe, but it's not hard to pick the SO out of the crowd. Nothing I would rely on to say that one individual is or isn't, but it's there.

The other thing that stands out about SOs is that they never take responsibility for their problems, legal or otherwise- everything that goes wrong in their lives isn't their fault and is probably due to someone else treating them unfairly. It's not a grooming behavior like Big Mike's list (good advice BTW) but I wouldn't trust anyone who had that type of thinking pattern in conversation.