I’m familiar with the awful consequences that can result when guns, booze, and testosterone intersect. I lost a close friend several years ago in a Dayton-area nightclub shooting.
The degenerate who shot Derek had a prior record for shooting someone and was carrying a weapon illegally when he fired blindly into a crowd after being denied entry into the party. My friend, a well-respected journalist, died on the spot.
That loss helped form my opinion about the question of legally concealed weapons in places that serve alcohol: It’s risky public policy. Loaded drunks toting loaded guns in venues full of strangers strike me as unnatural disasters hanging on hair-triggers.
But here’s my problem: I’m starting to believe that legislation recently passed in the Ohio House and Senate that allows concealed carry in places that serve alcohol is a public safety measure that could grow in importance as Ohio’s cities become less well-policed.
*Ed’s note: please read the whole story before commenting.
Read more at Cleveland.com
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A person I barely knew called cops and accused me of pointing my .45 at his face. I didn’t know him very well, but we talked a few times at a local bar. We talked about various subjects including guns and that night I had on an NRA jacket. I am disabled and had a CCW Permit, but I left my pistol in the car when I went into the bar. I had just gotten it back from a gunsmith and hadn’t even shot it. When the bar closed the guy came over to my car to see my pistol. Already a bad decision on my part, but other friends in the place knew him. He also worked with my ex-sister-in-law so I was reasonably certain he wasn’t going to try and rob me.
I’ve been shooting sing I was 6 and know gun safety in and out. Never put my finger on trigger until I’m ready to shoot, habit. Pointing a gun in someone’s face is not something I’d find funny.
Drinking and guns doesn’t mix. Ever.
I had got into my car, put my wheelchair in and reached over to unlocked the passenger door. It was very cold, 15 below Zero that night, he was cold and I hurried to unlock the door. He sat in the passenger seat as I reached in the back seat to bring my pistol into the front. Doing so I rested my elbow on the back of the passenger seat so I could finish turning around. At that moment he turned to see the weapon near his head, not pointed at him, just close along the side of his head he was looking at a profile of the pistol. I’m not sure why, but he freaked out jumping from the car and ran to his car. I didn’t think much of it. Like I said it was very cold and was going to go home. First I had to put my portable hand controls together on my brake and accelerator before I could drive. As I had a few drinks and began to drive my controls fell off. I ran a stop sign and was pulled over by police. The guy had seen me get pulled over and drove a few blocks to his house where he called police and made the accusation that I had pointed a gun at him. I was charged with 2nd degree assault, a felony. Despite hiring good lawyer I pleaded guilty rather than risk prison. All other charges were dropped and I’ll support the 2nd amendment and Constitution for others, but like I said I lost my rights.
The police never have had a mandate to protect individual safety so you and every individual has been and still is responsible for his or her own self defense and the defense of their families. The mandate of the police is to deter crime, investigate crimes that have already occurred and quell riots. The firearm carried by a police officer is for his own self defense.
I acknowledge that fewer cops means less crime deterrence and therefore more potential crime. This just makes the responsibility for individuals to protect themselves more obvious. It is the civil populace that makes a community “civil” or not. With cuts in the number of firefighters, individuals need to be more prepared to save themselves and their families from fire and injury too.