Fairfield, AL Police Chief says business owners should own a gun

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Be sure to send the guy an email of support and thanks.

We're quick to beat on them when they cross us, be sure to let this one know he's appreciated.

Anyone have good contact info?
 
Monkeyleg, Huntsville is a great spot. I've lived in the area for 13+ years now, and couldn't be happier. Enough fine arts and culture at the VBC to keep you entertained, and Nashville is only 2 hours away if you need to step it up a notch. Has the amenities of a big city (Wal Mart, Gander Mountain, 3 malls, etc.) while still retaining a bit of the small town feel.
My CC permit took less than a month to process; in Madison County (including HSV) the pistol permit costs $10, $20 if you want the plastic card with your picture on it. I think you have to include passport pictures with the application, IIRC, but no fingerprints. Renew the permit annually, no hassles. Most of my friends are shooters, and several cops and a pile of "CCW-ers" and IDPA competitors are members of my church, and this is even in the "yuppie" city limits of Madison.
Larry's is a great spot to gather with like-minded "gun folk." They have the most extensive selection of firearms in North Alabama. Larry's is on the west side of Memorial Parkway just north of University/72, FWIW. If you're into IDPA swing by at ~5:45pm on the first or third Tuesday of the month and head towards the indoor range in the back of the store. I (and my dad and two brothers) rarely miss a match when I'm in town, but I've been in Iraq (stinkin' contractor, not currently in uniform) since September so the only trigger I've been able to touch since then is on a mail-order airsoft gun in the office.
Wow, this got long! Sorry for the hijack, jrou111. Go ahead and make the move to Huntsville, Monkeyleg, it's a great area.
 
I live in Florence, Ala., retired from TVA, and get to Huntsville and Birmingham pretty regularly, mostly for shooting events.

Alabama is a May Issue CCW state. The Sheriff has discretion on whether to issue a pistol permit and there are no statewide standards. Few will deny you, but writer Jan Stevenson said he knew of one that would, a good many years ago. An Alabama permit is good in adjoining states, Tenn., Miss., Ga., and Fla., but not a whole lot of other places because of that lack of statewide standards and "training."

Shooting sports in North Alabama depend on your interest and your willingness to travel a bit. I go to IDPA club shoots in Sheffield, Huntsville, Hartselle, Arab, and Birmingham; six to 130 miles. I will go a bit farther to sanctioned matches, add Memphis and Manchester, Tenn. I branch out a little with BPCR in Birmingham and Long Range in Tullahoma, Tenn.

There is also IPSC to be had, CAS, some NRA, and some Trap and Skeet.

A rifle shooting friend grumbles at the lack of full scale NRA ranges and events, and goes to Tullahoma whenever they shoot, as well as longer excursions for big matches.
 
Birmingham is no different from most large cities. There are good areas and bad areas. Most of the bad are iner-city low income areas. Birmingham has lots of good areas...Mountain Brook, Vestavia, Homewood and many others. Just for the record, Fairfield has some nice areas.( I live in Fairfield)(Bellwood section) Most of the crime in crime in Birmingham is black on black, Just like any other city, you just have to avoid certain sections. Are there any bad sections in Birmingham? Of course there are. Name me another big city that doesn't have some bad areas. Don't just pick on Birmingham.
 
Yeah , Montgomery is not that bad either. Just dope dealers thinning the competition mostly. Don't deal dope and you will have no problems.

North AL is nice because you are close to Southern TN which is beautiful. Lynchburg, Frankewing, etc. Decatur has good BBQ at Big Bob Gibson's.


Come on down and pack with us in AL for a while.

RMD
 
The jewelry store that was robbed and the owner killed was located right next to a low income public housing project. Go figure.
 
Well at least the police chief understands his budget and some aspect of local politics...

Scenario 1: If a shop owner takes out the bad guy he goes home for dinner that night and all the police department has to do is document an attempted robbery of a prepared shop owner. The police chief can issue a press release of another violent criminal off the streets and let the courts figure out if the family of the thug can go after him for money.

Scenario 2: The shop owner calls 911, is then shot and killed, and the police arrive after the robber is gone and there are no witnesses other than the 911 recording and the guy gets away never to be apprehended. Now the police chief has what most would consider a "significant political issue" if he is in a small town. (Big town you may ask? He probably would be advising shop owners that it is OK to have guns, he has lobbyist to help him get re-elected.)

Scenario 3: (Police Chief who doesn't want his shop owners to have guns) The shop owner calls 911, is shot but not killed, the robber runs out of the store, the cops are on scene miraculously fast and the robber shoots and wounds a cop and is apprehended. Now the police chief has requests from the shop owner's lawyer to see if policy and procedure were followed to the letter (if they weren't, lawsuit). The family of the robber wants to sue for excessive force because the guy who had just shot a cop had some bruising which was sustained during the arrest. The cop goes out on leave, medical bills of hundreds of thousands of dollars come pouring into the agency, the potential for medical retirement looms, and now there are pending lawsuits and internal investigations. Lastly, the shop owner starts telling all the local folks that if the police chief really cared about their safety he would promote the idea of shop owner's having firearms to protect themselves and their property.

Obviously the situations are more complex than these abbreviated scenarios but you have to admit there has to be some truth to them...
 
FYI...I'm in Marshall County, one step over from Morgan County. I went to the Sheriff's office today to get my permit renewed. Got 3 permits renewed (me and 2 of my kids), shelled out $30 and was out the door in less than 10 minutes. Oh, yeah.
 
Chief Mardis will be getting a Wristband in the mail in a couple days, hope he likes it.
 
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