For years, Kevin Jensen carried a pistol everywhere he went, tucked in a shoulder holster beneath his clothes.
In hot weather the holster was almost unbearable. Pressed against Jensen’s skin, the firearm was heavy and uncomfortable. Hiding the weapon made him feel like a criminal.
Then one evening he stumbled across a site that urged gun owners to do something revolutionary: Carry your gun openly for the world to see as you go about your business.
In most states there’s no law against that.
Jensen thought about it and decided to give it a try. A couple of days later, his gun was visible, hanging from a black holster strapped around his hip as he walked into a Costco. His heart raced as he ordered a Polish dog at the counter. No one called the police. No one stopped him.
Now Jensen carries his Glock 23 openly into his bank, restaurants and shopping centers. He wore the gun to a Ron Paul rally. He and his wife, Clachelle, drop off their 5-year-old daughter at elementary school with pistols hanging from their hip holsters, and have never received a complaint or a wary look.
Jensen said he tries not to flaunt his gun. “We don’t want to show up and say, ‘Hey, we’re here, we’re armed, get used to it,’ ” he said.
“He and his wife, Clachelle, drop off their 5-year-old daughter at elementary school with pistols hanging from their hip holsters, and have never received a complaint or a wary look.”
Gee, I wonder why not. Might it be fear?
Maybe hoodlums will start carrying their knives openly now.
This was common in Arizona when I was living there. The only problem I had was at one restaurant (Pinnacle Peak, which also serves beer) which asked me and my friend to check our sidearms at the bar. We did, but we started patronizing the Reata Pass restaurant up the street instead. They never gave us a second glance.
[size=1][color=red][url=http://resurrectioncommunitypersonal.blogspot.com/]The Rabbit[/url][/color][color=gray].[/color][/size]
In my native state of New York it’s illegal for private citizens to carry a loaded firearm on the premises of any establishment licensed to sell alcohol. I am not a big fan of most of the gun laws in the soviet socialist state of New York, but I do agree with that one. Guns and booze are a dangerous combination.
ICXC
John
And what do you guys feel (a) about the same guns being carried into church (b) clergy carrying guns?
Weapons do not belong in church. I can’t speak for other religious confessions but its canonically forbidden for an Orthodox priest to kill someone. In fact Church canons actually forbid the ordination to the priesthood of anyone who has ever killed someone, even by accident.
ICXC
John
Even in ten Middle Ages, weapons were forbidden to be carried into church.
um, not “TEN Middle Ages” rather “THE Middle Ages”.
For a three letter word, I sure have trouble spelling it!
A woman here in Colorado Springs stopped a man who had already killed several people in a church in Denver with her concealed pistol. Her minister had several of his congregation carry against just such an event.
#1
Maybe hoodlums will start carrying their knives openly now.
Nope, they won’t. That’s why they’re hoodlums. They’re cowards.
And indeed, it might be fear, often a very good thing. Fear of hell works pretty well for Christians – fear of death works even better for the majority that composes ‘civilization.’
Americans would benefit from a lot more fear in their lives.
Many Brits and other people from across the pond have remarked on how incredibly peaceful and orderly ordinary American society really is … and they have noticed that it has more than a bit to do with the widespread right to bear arms in everyday life.
Bart, you are joking, right? C’est une blague, n’est-ce pas?. Compare and contrast, ooh, let’s say Detroit (2006, 418 murders, population under a million) and the UK (2006, population around 60 million, murders 765). Or California, population 36 million, murders around 2,503 (figures for 2005). Go figure. Although actually, you are right. The US does often seem more peaceable to a visitor from Europe, until you open the newspaper or watch the evening news.
There are some truths that are difficult to hear. If I remember correctly, a couple of years ago the editor of the New England Journal of Medicine lost his job after publishing a scholarly article comparing the US fondness for weapons to an addictive disease eg the addiction demands more and more to keep the body satisfied; consumes resources; has hig morbidity and mortality rates; is bad for familial and social ties; and so on.
#11 Terry you have it exactly backwards. People have lost thier jobs and suffered censorship for NOT supporting gun control. See this article http://www.jpands.org/hacienda/article8.html. An editor of of Southern medical journal was censored because he reported on faulty statistical analysis by anti gun researchers. Many of the gun deaths are related to gang bangers. Many gangs use younger members as “inforcers” because they will recieve lesser sentances as juveniles. If you take these folks out of the picture gun deaths are lower than many other activities.
Dave, I do not think your argument works at all. Surely the point is that these sub-cultures (rap, glamorized violence, drug dealing) take place within an overall culture of easy access to guns, where guns are said by some to be a constitutional right. Where attempts to place any restrictions on gun purchase are routinely opposed by the NRA. And regarding the previous posters, who pointed out the canonical prohibition on weapons being carried by clergy, surely the point is that clergy are expected to be some kind of example?
[blockquote]Where attempts to place any restrictions on gun purchase are routinely opposed by the NRA. [/blockquote]
Untrue. The NRA has backed a number of purchase restrictions, including instant background checks. It has also consistently backed stricter penalties for the use of firearms in criminal acts. Justly so.
[blockquote]The US does often seem more peaceable to a visitor from Europe, until you open the newspaper or watch the evening news.[/blockquote]
Precisely. Violence in the US is largely confined to small areas of cities (which have much stricter gun laws, as a rule). If you’re not in those areas, you really don’t experience crime, violent or otherwise, much at all. In fact, some of the lowest crime in America is exactly where firearm ownership is least restricted.
Jeffersonian, I was interested to read your rebuttal of what I said about the NRA. I would love a little more detail and will gladly eat humble pie. Your other argument does not answer my point that the culture of particular areas (inner city ghettos, etc) takes its cue from the wider culture. Also, you would seem to imply that if the cities with high homicide rates had less gun control there would be fewer homicides. That seems to me to be optimistic at least. As for gun crime being confined to particular areas, at random there was Columbine; that recent shooting at the mall in Chicago; the terrible Amish children murders of which we were reminded here recenty; and any number of disgruntled employees taking their wrath out on their boss and co-workers.
However, I acknowledge the dilemma about gun ownership. As a priest I feel that it would be utterly wrong for me to have a weapon, and anyway as an alien I would not be allowed to own one in the US. However, I spend part of each year in the US (which I do deeply love) on my own and have wondered occasionally, surveying the flimsy locks of my condo, whether a gun might be a good idea … then again, not. In God we trust. Finally, our Christian faith tells us that we belong together. Can we really treat gun crime as belonging to particular areas with particular subsets of people and therefore not of concern to the rest of us? The troubled issue of race would also seem significant here. In sum: there are many challenges.
# 13 Terry, I was pointing out that in the AMA there is a biase against firearm ownership. Some of the places with the strictest gun control are places where gun violence is highest such asWashington DC and New York.
#10 and 11 – quite possibly yes and no to both. Remember that several months ago T19 had a post about which nation(s) have the highest violent crime rate. Answer? Scotland. Yes – Scotland! [i]Violent[/i] crime includes assault, stabbing, you name it.
In America – you could get killed by being shot with a firearm. Sure. In the UK (where I lived for 5 years)? No way – extremely rare. But on the other hand… if in America people worry about getting shot in the UK (especially Scotland) they worry about being beaten up/stabbed/assaulted.
(In the British school I frequently saw – and sometimes was on the receiving end – of physical fights. Kick/punch/spit – been there done that. In American schools… almost never. Although I am aware that physical violence is not so rare in some schools in some areas.)
It is possible that American society seems more peaceful and orderly – despite our addiction(?) to guns.
On another note, I still find troubling the details of the story.
The people bring firearms to an elementary school. !?!?!?! Even if that person (a) has a right and (b) has the appropriate licenses and all… holy cow who would not feel nervous in the presence of a [i]deadly weapon in proximity to children[/i]?
Take that a step further. I see a firearm in my child’s classroom. What the heck am I supposed to think based on what I (do not) know? Do I [i]know[/i] that person? Whether they are licensed or not?!? If that person wears an official uniform (police or military) that would be a different matter. But without clear indication “this person is supposed to carry a deadly weapon”… Do we seriously think someone is going to complain even if it bothers them deeply? Does it not occur that people would be afraid to say something?