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Communities that opened arms are now bearing arms
Residents flock to gun stores on false rumors that crime is rising
By LISA FALKENBERG
LAFAYETTE, LA. - Rumors of rapes, robberies and other crimes spiking with the influx of New Orleans hurricane evacuees have incited a run on guns at stores across Cajun Country.
Gun dealers from Lake Charles to Baton Rouge say they can't keep up with demand for small revolvers, semiautomatics, shotguns and stun guns, many being purchased by women and first-time gun owners, despite police denials that the crime rate has jumped.
"We have now officially sold more handguns than we normally sell in a year in the last three days," said Will Hall, lead salesman at Lafayette Shooters.
Manager Doug Brown estimates the store has sold 300 guns over the past three days, with people traveling as far as 100 miles to buy them. He said the spike was prompted by rumors of increased crime in town, recent TV images of New Orleans looting and the Big Easy's reputation for crime.
"A lot of people sit there glued to CNN and see nothing but negative images, and they're seeing all the crowds of people showing up here, and it's kind of fueling a frenzy," Brown said. "It's not a good situation."
In Lafayette, there were reports that 14 people were raped and two killed in the Cajundome, that others were mugged in the Wal-Mart parking lot and that Lafayette Shooters had been robbed.
"It is out of control. There's rumors all over the place," said Lafayette police Lt. Bill McGovern. But, he added, "Everything's fine here. The population has just about doubled in the past 72 hours, so they're just nervous with all the new people in town."
McGovern said that he hasn't seen a spike in crime and that, overall, the New Orleans visitors have been an orderly bunch.
But many locals aren't taking chances.
Chris and Christa Credeur of the small town of Henderson, La., said they know all the displaced people aren't criminals, but they want to protect their family from the few who are.
"We've helped out many families since this has happened and donated money, funds, furniture and everything. But there's some of them that actually scare us," said Chris Credeur, who was buying a gun for his wife's purse.
Guy Johnston was purchasing his first gun.
The 27-year-old Tulane junior said he grew up in New Orleans and has become frustrated with the increasing crime there. Even before the hurricane, he said, he was robbed three times.
"I've avoided getting a gun for a long time and I'm not totally excited about it, but I really do feel like it's unavoidable now," Johnston said.
Jim McClain, owner of Jim's Firearms in Baton Rouge, said he has seen his share of first-time gun buyers, too.
He said Louisiana law requires gun buyers to pass background checks, but that safety classes aren't required unless the buyer seeks a concealed weapon permit.
Brandon LeBlanc of Barney's Police and Hunting Supplies said stores outside Lafayette and in Lake Charles have responded to the increased demand by increasing basic firearms training.
"We're not letting anybody out of here without a basic familiarization," LeBlanc said.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/special/05/katrina/3340839
uh... false rumors? If what we have been seeing is not a rise in crime for New Orleans, then that place was more dangerous than I thought.
...and from the Chicago Tribune.....
Time to get a gun?
Along with our powerlessness against nature and the fecklessness of the government's response to a crisis, a third frightening aspect to the tragedy of New Orleans has been the breakdown of civilization in the disaster zone that accompanied the snapping of the so-called thin blue line.
Among the questions it prompts in my mind is one that is old and unresolved: Should I own a firearm?
Thirteen years ago, when Los Angeles was up for grabs during the rioting that followed the acquittal of police officers charged in the Rodney King beating, the images of shopkeepers unprotected by police staving off looters with rifles knocked me off my comfortable anti-gun perch. Who wouldn't want a firearm under those circumstances? And who knows where such circumstances will occur next?
It's hard to bring this up again without sounding like one of those cackling vigilantes who would gladly shoot someone swiping a bicycle out of his carport, or one of those basement-bunker survivalists besotted by paranoia.
I resisted back in 1992 and still rely on 9-1-1 and a pitching wedge under the bed to protect my family. But the rapid descent from crisis to chaos to anarchy in New Orleans was another reminder that paranoia can come to look like prudence in hindsight.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...60102sep06,1,5721201.column?coll=chi-news-col
Residents flock to gun stores on false rumors that crime is rising
By LISA FALKENBERG
LAFAYETTE, LA. - Rumors of rapes, robberies and other crimes spiking with the influx of New Orleans hurricane evacuees have incited a run on guns at stores across Cajun Country.
Gun dealers from Lake Charles to Baton Rouge say they can't keep up with demand for small revolvers, semiautomatics, shotguns and stun guns, many being purchased by women and first-time gun owners, despite police denials that the crime rate has jumped.
"We have now officially sold more handguns than we normally sell in a year in the last three days," said Will Hall, lead salesman at Lafayette Shooters.
Manager Doug Brown estimates the store has sold 300 guns over the past three days, with people traveling as far as 100 miles to buy them. He said the spike was prompted by rumors of increased crime in town, recent TV images of New Orleans looting and the Big Easy's reputation for crime.
"A lot of people sit there glued to CNN and see nothing but negative images, and they're seeing all the crowds of people showing up here, and it's kind of fueling a frenzy," Brown said. "It's not a good situation."
In Lafayette, there were reports that 14 people were raped and two killed in the Cajundome, that others were mugged in the Wal-Mart parking lot and that Lafayette Shooters had been robbed.
"It is out of control. There's rumors all over the place," said Lafayette police Lt. Bill McGovern. But, he added, "Everything's fine here. The population has just about doubled in the past 72 hours, so they're just nervous with all the new people in town."
McGovern said that he hasn't seen a spike in crime and that, overall, the New Orleans visitors have been an orderly bunch.
But many locals aren't taking chances.
Chris and Christa Credeur of the small town of Henderson, La., said they know all the displaced people aren't criminals, but they want to protect their family from the few who are.
"We've helped out many families since this has happened and donated money, funds, furniture and everything. But there's some of them that actually scare us," said Chris Credeur, who was buying a gun for his wife's purse.
Guy Johnston was purchasing his first gun.
The 27-year-old Tulane junior said he grew up in New Orleans and has become frustrated with the increasing crime there. Even before the hurricane, he said, he was robbed three times.
"I've avoided getting a gun for a long time and I'm not totally excited about it, but I really do feel like it's unavoidable now," Johnston said.
Jim McClain, owner of Jim's Firearms in Baton Rouge, said he has seen his share of first-time gun buyers, too.
He said Louisiana law requires gun buyers to pass background checks, but that safety classes aren't required unless the buyer seeks a concealed weapon permit.
Brandon LeBlanc of Barney's Police and Hunting Supplies said stores outside Lafayette and in Lake Charles have responded to the increased demand by increasing basic firearms training.
"We're not letting anybody out of here without a basic familiarization," LeBlanc said.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/special/05/katrina/3340839
uh... false rumors? If what we have been seeing is not a rise in crime for New Orleans, then that place was more dangerous than I thought.
...and from the Chicago Tribune.....
Time to get a gun?
Along with our powerlessness against nature and the fecklessness of the government's response to a crisis, a third frightening aspect to the tragedy of New Orleans has been the breakdown of civilization in the disaster zone that accompanied the snapping of the so-called thin blue line.
Among the questions it prompts in my mind is one that is old and unresolved: Should I own a firearm?
Thirteen years ago, when Los Angeles was up for grabs during the rioting that followed the acquittal of police officers charged in the Rodney King beating, the images of shopkeepers unprotected by police staving off looters with rifles knocked me off my comfortable anti-gun perch. Who wouldn't want a firearm under those circumstances? And who knows where such circumstances will occur next?
It's hard to bring this up again without sounding like one of those cackling vigilantes who would gladly shoot someone swiping a bicycle out of his carport, or one of those basement-bunker survivalists besotted by paranoia.
I resisted back in 1992 and still rely on 9-1-1 and a pitching wedge under the bed to protect my family. But the rapid descent from crisis to chaos to anarchy in New Orleans was another reminder that paranoia can come to look like prudence in hindsight.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...60102sep06,1,5721201.column?coll=chi-news-col
