Dallas Morning News article

[TxFire]

Jacquielynn Floyd has her thoughts on what Governor Perry stated regarding removing CHL restrictions. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... fad2e.html

[frankie_the_yankee]

Floyd says,

"We've all seen that movie: Reluctant hero jumps up and drops the bad guy with a single well-placed shot before the mayhem goes too far.

And that's just plain nonsense. A few hours' worth of firearms instruction is a fine thing, but it's not going to teach anybody how to react in a panic-inducing, shocking, bloody attack. Cops and soldiers are trained for combat. Civilians are not.

You might argue that if even one good-guy-with-a-gun responds appropriately, a lot of lives could be saved.

But one good-guy-with-a-gun might also misinterpret an innocent situation and start firing. One good-guy-with-a-gun might shoot the wrong person. One good-guy-with-a-gun might get shot dead before he can squeeze off a single round, or he might blow his own kneecap off."

Someone should acquaint her with what REALLY happens when a CHL'er is present at one of these incidents.

Like Tyler, TX, where a heroic CHL'er engaged the crazed gunman and, at the cost of his own life, was credited with saving several others.

Or like The Appalachia Law School, where two CHL'ers stopped a crazed gunman as he was trying to reload, doubtless saving many lives.

Or Pearl, MS, where a Vice Principal and CHL'er captured a shooter at gunpoint as he was heading out to a nearby middle school to continue his rampage.

Now I've read of some instances where a CHL'er tried to intervene and was unsuccecssful, such as a mall shooting in WA state where the CHL'er failed to score a hit and was shot himself several times.

But I have NEVER heard of someone blowing their kneecap off. And the statistics show that police "misiinterpret" situations more often than citizens do, and shoot the wrong person.

(In fairness, a citizen has an advantage here, at least in a self defense situation because they already know who the bad guy is - the OTHER guy. Cops don't know who the actors are and have to figure it out on the fly. Often, this is not an easy task.)

I've certainly never heard of a CHL'er accidently mistaking HIMSELF for the bad guy and blowing his own brains out.

If CHL'ers were prone to making the kinds of errors that Floyd imagines, THEY WOULD BE MAKING THEM RIGHT NOW. There are 267,000 CHL'ers in TX alone, and several million nationwide. It seems to me that if this were likely to happen, it WOULD happen.

What I think is more likely is that Ms Floyd has bought into the leftist, statist notion that ordinary people are mostly incompetent, and that only government agents can be trusted to act responsibly.

This poses a few interesting questions.

1) If ordinary people are incompetent, why is it that we let them into VOTING BOOTHS? Shouldn't people have to undergo "training" before they engage in an act as consequential as voting?

2) Only government agents can be trusted to act responsibly? Like agents of the USSR, Nazi Germany, the PRC, the DPRK, Iran, Sudan, the Taliban, or Cuba?

3) How does Ms. Floyd know what kind of "government agents" we will have here in the USA in 50 years, since most of them haven't been born yet?

BTW, this is what happens when you skip "History" and take a lot of "gender/ethnic studies" courses in its place. You grow up brainwashed and ignorant, just the way they want you.

[seamusTX]

But the percentage of the population that has shared Ms. Hupp's awful experience is – thank God – statistically infinitesimal. As married as we seem to be to the idea that deranged-lunatic rampages constitute a daily threat, accidental shootings kill infinitely more people ...

That is so untrue that it could qualify as a lie. Intentional homicides kill many time more people than accidental shootings. There are about 10,000 homicides a year in the U.S., and serveral hundred accidental shootings (some of which may be misclassified suicides). I don't have time to look up the numbers, but they're not hard to find.

- Jim

[pbandjelly]

one more reason not to read the DMN.

you know, other than for the comics, and Tim Cowlishaw...

[nitrogen]

one more reason not to read the DMN.

you know, other than for the comics, and Tim Cowlishaw...

I say exactly the opposite. MORE of us need to read, AND write them.

[pbandjelly]

I tend to not want to head INTO frustration!

naw, you're right. I'm just saying.
Dallas Observer, all the way!

[jimlongley]

one more reason not to read the DMN.

you know, other than for the comics, and Tim Cowlishaw...

Know thine enemy.

Actually the DMN has been very good to gun owners and CHL holders lately, the articles are generally positive and they publish about two to one in "our" favor. I get published about once a month on various subjects.

My reply to Ms. Floyd said "Good intentions and a gun may not always save the day, statistically, but they are way ahead of whatever is in second place.

And just to let you in on a little secret, it's already legal to carry in churches and hospitals, as long as they are not properly posted."

Interestingly enough I have had no reply from her yet, and she's usually more prompt.

[pbandjelly]

Jim, you're my hero.
wish I could get the words to come out as well as you do.

for me, it's more like children to the playground. just letters everywhere...

[txinvestigator]

And the statistics show that police "misiinterpret" situations more often than citizens do, and shoot the wrong person.

Please provide info on those "statistics".

[jimlongley]

Floyd says . . .

Someone should acquaint her with what REALLY happens when a CHL'er is present at one of these incidents.

Like Tyler, TX, where a heroic CHL'er engaged the crazed gunman and, at the cost of his own life, was credited with saving several others.

Or like The Appalachia Law School, where two CHL'ers stopped a crazed gunman as he was trying to reload, doubtless saving many lives.

Or Pearl, MS, where a Vice Principal and CHL'er captured a shooter at gunpoint as he was heading out to a nearby middle school to continue his rampage.

So write to her. Leave out the insulting stuff and you have a chance of developing a dialogue with her. She's pretty gracious about accepting correction, if you can do so gently and provide citations that are not too obscure. I have "re-educated" her on several subjects, and she has refused to be convinced against her will on others.

I already wrote to her on this subject, so it's someone else's turn.

Her addy is: jfloyd@dallasnews.com

[jimlongley]

Jim, you're my hero.
wish I could get the words to come out as well as you do.

for me, it's more like children to the playground. just letters everywhere...

Not bad for a dyslexic agnostic, right?

[frankie_the_yankee]

And the statistics show that police "misiinterpret" situations more often than citizens do, and shoot the wrong person.

Please provide info on those "statistics".

Not handy at the moment. But the reference is from Ayoob. I'm not sure what data he was accessing where "citizen-unintentionals" were somehow broken out separately from ordinary/'voluntary/involuntary manslaughter.

The next time I run into the direct reference I will post it.

Note also that this is no slam on cops. Use-of-force decisions for them are MUCH more complicated than for a CHL'er because when they arrive on scene, not only is it usually chaotic, but they most often do not know anybody present.

The CHL'er at least knows HIMSELF. This greatly simplifies things.

[Paladin]

Cops and soldiers are trained for combat. Civilians are not.

This part just cracks me up.

Even if we were to suspend reality for a moment on the cop vs. soldier vs. civilian thing...

A whole lot of CHLs have been in law enforcement and/or the military... so the line of distinction can get pretty blurry.

[Paladin]

And the statistics show that police "misiinterpret" situations more often than citizens do, and shoot the wrong person.

Please provide info on those "statistics".

It's well established TXI. Its easier for civi's to spot the BG when they get attacked by one. The police have a tougher job of figuring out who the BGs are.