Monkeyleg
Member.
The guest column below appeared in today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. I can't believe this guy is so naive.
I just had a letter published, so perhaps someone else here would like to rebut this guy by going to www.jsonline.com and going to the editorial section.
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oncealed carry and safety
By Alvaro Saar Rios
Posted: March 3, 2010 |(15) COMMENTS
Now that I am a father, I've started to think about things differently. Issues I didn't support in the past seem a bit more appealing. One issue is concealed weapons.
In the past, I was against any kind of concealed weapon legislation. I was raised thinking that hiding weapons is something that only criminals and cowards do.
As I mentioned, my thinking has kind of changed. I think I can be an advocate for concealed weapons, but not without a specific stipulation.
I can support any type of concealed weapon laws if, and only if, it requires "the concealer" to wear a lime green armband. It can be yellow, too. Or day-glo orange.
Why a bright colored armband? For safety. Ours.
The armband will let us, the citizens of Milwaukee, know exactly when someone who is packing heat is in the vicinity.
It also guarantees the safety of my family because we will definitely flee the area.
I do not want to be in the same place with someone who thinks he or she needs to carry something that kills people. Not at Alterra. Not at the library. Not even at Summerfest.
My exception to this are uniformed police officers or security guards. Yet, if you think about it, even they don't hide their weapons.
Even if "the concealer" takes a mandatory training course, I still will not feel safe around that person. Training courses aren't real life. Paper targets don't shoot back.
I know what you're thinking, Mr. I-want-to-carry-a-concealed-weapon. "If I wear an armband, the criminals/terrorists/evil people will know I am armed." Not true. If they're dumb enough to think their way of life is going to get them anywhere, they are dumb enough to forget what those armbands mean.
But I won't.
I understand the instinct that would drive one to want to carry a gun - to protect loved ones. I'll be the first to admit that I will do anything to protect my wife and son. But I don't feel that instinct entails me carrying a .45 Desert Eagle or a Glock every time we leave the house.
I feel if I ever get to the point where I think Milwaukee (or the rest of Wisconsin) is so dangerous that I need to start carrying a gun everywhere I go, then maybe I need to stay inside more. Become a hermit. Through the wonders of the Internet, I can do everything at home. Shop. Work. Take classes. Keep in touch with family.
With all the money I save from not buying gas for my car, I can buy more things to protect my family. Vicious guard dogs. Barbed wired fence. Ex-employees of Blackwater USA.
And if I ever get the itch to start packing heat while attending Summerfest or State Fair or at the Milwaukee Art Museum, I'll make sure to keep Mayor Tom Barrett in mind. He didn't need a weapon when trying to protect someone.
And neither do I.
Alvaro Saar Rios of Milwaukee is a graduate student at Northwestern University. E-mail [email protected]
I just had a letter published, so perhaps someone else here would like to rebut this guy by going to www.jsonline.com and going to the editorial section.
***************
oncealed carry and safety
By Alvaro Saar Rios
Posted: March 3, 2010 |(15) COMMENTS
Now that I am a father, I've started to think about things differently. Issues I didn't support in the past seem a bit more appealing. One issue is concealed weapons.
In the past, I was against any kind of concealed weapon legislation. I was raised thinking that hiding weapons is something that only criminals and cowards do.
As I mentioned, my thinking has kind of changed. I think I can be an advocate for concealed weapons, but not without a specific stipulation.
I can support any type of concealed weapon laws if, and only if, it requires "the concealer" to wear a lime green armband. It can be yellow, too. Or day-glo orange.
Why a bright colored armband? For safety. Ours.
The armband will let us, the citizens of Milwaukee, know exactly when someone who is packing heat is in the vicinity.
It also guarantees the safety of my family because we will definitely flee the area.
I do not want to be in the same place with someone who thinks he or she needs to carry something that kills people. Not at Alterra. Not at the library. Not even at Summerfest.
My exception to this are uniformed police officers or security guards. Yet, if you think about it, even they don't hide their weapons.
Even if "the concealer" takes a mandatory training course, I still will not feel safe around that person. Training courses aren't real life. Paper targets don't shoot back.
I know what you're thinking, Mr. I-want-to-carry-a-concealed-weapon. "If I wear an armband, the criminals/terrorists/evil people will know I am armed." Not true. If they're dumb enough to think their way of life is going to get them anywhere, they are dumb enough to forget what those armbands mean.
But I won't.
I understand the instinct that would drive one to want to carry a gun - to protect loved ones. I'll be the first to admit that I will do anything to protect my wife and son. But I don't feel that instinct entails me carrying a .45 Desert Eagle or a Glock every time we leave the house.
I feel if I ever get to the point where I think Milwaukee (or the rest of Wisconsin) is so dangerous that I need to start carrying a gun everywhere I go, then maybe I need to stay inside more. Become a hermit. Through the wonders of the Internet, I can do everything at home. Shop. Work. Take classes. Keep in touch with family.
With all the money I save from not buying gas for my car, I can buy more things to protect my family. Vicious guard dogs. Barbed wired fence. Ex-employees of Blackwater USA.
And if I ever get the itch to start packing heat while attending Summerfest or State Fair or at the Milwaukee Art Museum, I'll make sure to keep Mayor Tom Barrett in mind. He didn't need a weapon when trying to protect someone.
And neither do I.
Alvaro Saar Rios of Milwaukee is a graduate student at Northwestern University. E-mail [email protected]
