Metal Detectors in Malls

[Doug.38PR]

4 or 5 time in a year is not that isolated.

Really? 4 or 5 times in a union of 50 states thousands of towns and cities all made up of 270 million people is common? What do you consider isolated?

It's like the "Public Enemy" era of Bonnie & Clyde, Ma Barker, John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson. If you listened to the government, you'd think the whole country was at war with crime and there was this massive crime wave across america. These were isolated incidents committed by very few people. The very reason they made headlines was because they were remarkable. The government played it up in order to pass more laws controlling you and me (gun control laws like banning semi automatic weapons)

I didn't see anywhere in the article where Homeland Security was suggesting that they might consider installing metal detectors in malls. Though it talked about the potential for metal detectors, I didn't ever see it suggested that it would be a government initiative. If I missed that bit, can you direct me to it?

Whenever the national government brings something up....it isn't a suggestion...even if they say it is. Even if it didn't become a "law" on the books, a lot of people will do things just because the government tells them it's a good idea. Just like sheep. I.E.: Bike Helmets, state and national officials tell everybody bike helmets are needed. Cities and states start passing laws to make children wear bike helmets. Adults even start wearing them all the time. Nevermind the fact that for the past 150 years, man has been riding bikes just fine and accepting the fact that occasionally accidents happen in life. We got through the 1980s as boys without bike helmets, popping wheelies on curbs and dirt mounds and occasionally falling off and getting bumped and/or scraped. But suddenly now, we need bike helmets in order to get on a bike to ride down the street (looks so sissy). Interestingly in common sense rural areas children as young as 7 are riding horses and motorized 4 wheelers up hill and down hill without helmets, but these effemminate so-called fathers of the urban world insist that their children join them in wearing a bicycle helmet to ride down the street.

[FightinAggieCHL]

What if we able to just open carry? Or walk around with an Ar-15 slung over our shoulders? That way, if a BG did decide he was going to go berserk, he would be met with several people who were all armed.

I'm just throwin that out there. I decided to go to the other extreme to see how it's taken.

[frankie_the_yankee]

What if we able to just open carry? Or walk around with an Ar-15 slung over our shoulders? That way, if a BG did decide he was going to go berserk, he would be met with several people who were all armed.

I'm just throwin that out there. I decided to go to the other extreme to see how it's taken.

Look at John Lott's column in the current issue of America's 1st Freedom.

He notes that in Isreal, terrorist shooters would make it a point to ambush and take out anyone they saw OC'ing before hosing down the ordinary bystanders.

Their response was to encourage people to carry CONCEALED. He says something like 15% of Isreali adults have concealed carry licenses (compared to 2% here).

15% is enough that any would-be terrorists would have to figure that wherever they went there would be SOME people present who were armed, and that THEY WOULDN'T KNOW WHO THEY WERE.

So the BG's would be on the receiving end of the ambush.

BTW, Lott doesn't say this but my understanding is that Isreal is long past any infantile notions of "gun free zones". It's a war zone. They can't afford to indulge nonsense like that.

[Doug.38PR]

That's if it is a concentrated organized attack by an armed body, not some thug on the streets or nutcase. If some trench coat mafia kid comes into the mall nad sees 50-75% of everyong open carrying, they would think twice because they know they are outgunned.

If on the other hand, Mexicans that are over here decide to go ahead with their La Raza or San Diego plan to take over the Southwest and Texas and organize themselves in area's where they make up the majority and wipe out as many Americans as they can, then yes open carriers would be the first ones to be shot down, just as policemen would be the first ones shot down.

That's why Concealed and Open carry should be the perogative of the gun owner, not the State of Texas. It depends on the circumstances, and only the gun owner can truly figure out when it is a good idea to open carry and when it is a good idea to concealed carry

[txinvestigator]

In a Mall near me, there are 12 entrances, 4 main entrances, 4 anchor store entrances and 4 others (cheesecake factory, etc).

That is 12 entrances. This mall is open 11 hours per day, on average. Metal detectors take at least 2 to man. So we would have the need for 264 man hours per day to staff the metal detectors. That is 1,848 hours per week.

Assuming you only want to pay these folks $12 per hour, the actual employee cost is near $16 per hour. That is a gross cost of $29,568 per week, or $1,157,536 per year to staff those.

This does not include the acquisition cost or maintenance of the machines, supervision, training, etc of the staff, etc.

[Doug.38PR]

hmmmm....this gives insight of how much tax money is wasted by paranoid judges and school officials who have set up all these metal detectors in public schools, courthouses and other public buildings.


Although courthouses, some of them, have closed all entrances except one and put one metal detector there that all have to go through.

I shudder to think of a mall such as you, txinvestigator, describe having only one entrance that everybody has to walkaround the outside of the mall to get to.

[txinvestigator]

hmmmm....this gives insight of how much tax money is wasted by paranoid judges and school officials who have set up all these metal detectors in public schools, courthouses and other public buildings.


Although courthouses, some of them, have closed all entrances except one and put one metal detector there that all have to go through.

I shudder to think of a mall such as you, txinvestigator, describe having only one entrance that everybody has to walkaround the outside of the mall to get to.

Online only retailers would love it. ;)

[frankie_the_yankee]

Once a place reaches a certain size, maintaining it as a "secure" or sterile area, where no guns are allowed, becomes impractical. Ultimately, it becomes impossible.

A physically small space like the cabin of an airliner, a courtroom, and maybe a few similar places are more or less do-able.

But a place like a mall is not, IMO.

Heck, at some malls there are stores that SELL guns. And any mall has stores that sell things that could be used as improvised weapons.

But the other extreme, with something like 50 - 75% of people carrying guns, whether openly or concealed, isn't gonna happen either. No where near that many people WANT to carry, or ever will.

Even in a war zone like Isreal it's only around 15%. And they encourage people to carry concealed.

[Photoman]

Isreal is long past any infantile notions of "gun free zones". It's a war zone. They can't afford to indulge nonsense like that.

Very much worth repeating and, if we insist on maintaining our infantile notions of "gun free zones" in this country, we will be living in a totalitarian state. Maybe that is the goal...

[Photoman]

In a Mall near me, there are 12 entrances, 4 main entrances, 4 anchor store entrances and 4 others (cheesecake factory, etc).

That is 12 entrances. This mall is open 11 hours per day, on average. Metal detectors take at least 2 to man. So we would have the need for 264 man hours per day to staff the metal detectors. That is 1,848 hours per week.

Assuming you only want to pay these folks $12 per hour, the actual employee cost is near $16 per hour. That is a gross cost of $29,568 per week, or $1,157,536 per year to staff those.

This does not include the acquisition cost or maintenance of the machines, supervision, training, etc of the staff, etc.

Very interesting. Would be cheaper to "issue" everyone a gun upon entrance.

[frankie_the_yankee]

Isreal is long past any infantile notions of "gun free zones". It's a war zone. They can't afford to indulge nonsense like that.

Very much worth repeating and, if we insist on maintaining our infantile notions of "gun free zones" in this country, we will be living in a totalitarian state. Maybe that is the goal...

I think it is the goal of a few. And to the extent that they can co-opt "the many" in the name of "safety" or "the children", they might succeed if we are not careful.

And voting "Slow Wheat" out of idealism is not being careful.