progunner1957
Moderator
Your best defense is a handgun, say four local officers
Sunday, November 6, 2005
By Michael Bowers, Star columnist
Probably the best thing about writing a column is hearing from readers, whether they love me or hate me.
In fact, I get a kick out of replying to angry letters with a sincere, appreciative message. It baffles the writer. "Hey, this guy is supposed to be a jerk," they think. "Why's he nice?"
Sometimes an angry writer will even write back with thanks, telling me she didn't really mean it when she said she uses my column to toilet-train her puppy.
But then, believe it or not, sometimes there are correspondents who actually agree with what I wrote in the first place. One such reader is Gregg Jarrette, a former Will County sheriff's police officer who now runs a private security company. One of his concerns is the Second Amendment. He strongly believes lawful citizens have the right, perhaps even the obligation, to own a gun for self-defense.
One qualification: These same lawful citizens also must know how to use their gun effectively and responsibly. If you don't take this deadly tool with deadly seriousness, don't get one.
Now then, I'm open to Mr. Jarrette's view, and over several months we chatted about getting together with a few of his law enforcement friends to discuss it. They have a simple message they want to get out:
American citizens simply cannot count on the police to protect them from assault. Almost always, the only thing the police can do is show up after the fact and sort things out. Laws are not written to prevent crime; they are written to give society the means to punish the criminal after he has committed his misdeed.
In short, when crunch time comes, you are on your own. And if you really want to improve your odds of surviving an encounter with a felon, you've got to have a handgun handy.
A few weeks ago, I met Gregg and three of his colleagues at a pleasant restaurant in Frankfort. We had hamburgers and beers and conversation. The colleagues were:
Roger D. Johnson, who has 30 years of law enforcement experience in the area.
Terry Kreimeier, who has 4½ years of experience with the Channahon Police Department; 20 years with the Will County sheriff's police in Joliet; and two years with the Will County Forest Preserve Police Department.
And Tony Policandriotes, who has 17 years of law enforcement experience in the area.
Somehow, I felt really safe at that table.
Now for what the officers had to say. Perhaps most important is that slogans such as "Protect and Serve" are just that — slogans. Meaningless slogans. Be real. There is no way police can protect everybody from harm. They just cannot be at all places at all times.
The men also addressed the myth that rank-and-file officers oppose gun rights and the National Rifle Association. Coercing officers into photo-ops, politicians such as Bill Clinton and Mayor Richard Daley would have you believe that police reject the Second Amendment. But 80 percent of street-level cops will tell you that if you want to protect yourself, get a gun.
Police gun supporters used to number 95 percent to 98 percent, they said, but the figure is starting to erode because police departments in big liberal cities are looking for recruits with the view of Big Brother.
If you meet a police official who professes to oppose gun rights, you can almost be assured politics is at work. Officers who want to climb the ranks have to say the right things. Once an officer reaches captain, he has brainwashed himself into thinking the opposite of what he used to think.
The four officers were unanimous that a concealed-carry weapon law such as Florida's would be a benefit in Illinois, reducing violent crime hugely. As one of the officers pointed out, there is no place more polite than a gun shop. But they also recognized the likelihood our state will ever approve CCW is dismal.
Gun laws are essentially a joke, they said. They are written for people who will obey them — not criminals. The officers said banning guns in the United States would eliminate murder just as banning drugs has eliminated cocaine. We sure showed the pushers on that one, didn't we?
Opposition to guns has nothing to do with logic. It's all emotion. One officer has never been able to flip a gun-hater with reasonable argument. But he has managed to flip a few women by actually taking them out shooting. After a couple of hours on the range, they realize that the recoil is not going to knock them down and that the gun is not going to jump off the table and start killing people.
In fact, amazingly enough, some women even decide that shooting is fun.
Time passed, and I realized I had better get home and tend to my new dog. So I asked the officers to sum up for me in one sentence the message they wished to leave. It was this:
Guns are not bad; people are bad. A citizen can't count on the police. He has a moral duty to protect himself and his family from bad people. And the most effective way to do so is to buy a gun and learn how to use it responsibly.
So, in the end, who are you going to believe? Four officers who have a combined total of 100 years of experience on the street?
Or Mayor Daley, the gun-banner who travels with a cadre of armed men ready to shoot anyone who might attack him?
Michael Bowers is a copy editor and page designer for The Star. Send e-mail to mbowers@starnewspapers.com.
Sunday, November 6, 2005
By Michael Bowers, Star columnist
Probably the best thing about writing a column is hearing from readers, whether they love me or hate me.
In fact, I get a kick out of replying to angry letters with a sincere, appreciative message. It baffles the writer. "Hey, this guy is supposed to be a jerk," they think. "Why's he nice?"
Sometimes an angry writer will even write back with thanks, telling me she didn't really mean it when she said she uses my column to toilet-train her puppy.
But then, believe it or not, sometimes there are correspondents who actually agree with what I wrote in the first place. One such reader is Gregg Jarrette, a former Will County sheriff's police officer who now runs a private security company. One of his concerns is the Second Amendment. He strongly believes lawful citizens have the right, perhaps even the obligation, to own a gun for self-defense.
One qualification: These same lawful citizens also must know how to use their gun effectively and responsibly. If you don't take this deadly tool with deadly seriousness, don't get one.
Now then, I'm open to Mr. Jarrette's view, and over several months we chatted about getting together with a few of his law enforcement friends to discuss it. They have a simple message they want to get out:
American citizens simply cannot count on the police to protect them from assault. Almost always, the only thing the police can do is show up after the fact and sort things out. Laws are not written to prevent crime; they are written to give society the means to punish the criminal after he has committed his misdeed.
In short, when crunch time comes, you are on your own. And if you really want to improve your odds of surviving an encounter with a felon, you've got to have a handgun handy.
A few weeks ago, I met Gregg and three of his colleagues at a pleasant restaurant in Frankfort. We had hamburgers and beers and conversation. The colleagues were:
Roger D. Johnson, who has 30 years of law enforcement experience in the area.
Terry Kreimeier, who has 4½ years of experience with the Channahon Police Department; 20 years with the Will County sheriff's police in Joliet; and two years with the Will County Forest Preserve Police Department.
And Tony Policandriotes, who has 17 years of law enforcement experience in the area.
Somehow, I felt really safe at that table.
Now for what the officers had to say. Perhaps most important is that slogans such as "Protect and Serve" are just that — slogans. Meaningless slogans. Be real. There is no way police can protect everybody from harm. They just cannot be at all places at all times.
The men also addressed the myth that rank-and-file officers oppose gun rights and the National Rifle Association. Coercing officers into photo-ops, politicians such as Bill Clinton and Mayor Richard Daley would have you believe that police reject the Second Amendment. But 80 percent of street-level cops will tell you that if you want to protect yourself, get a gun.
Police gun supporters used to number 95 percent to 98 percent, they said, but the figure is starting to erode because police departments in big liberal cities are looking for recruits with the view of Big Brother.
If you meet a police official who professes to oppose gun rights, you can almost be assured politics is at work. Officers who want to climb the ranks have to say the right things. Once an officer reaches captain, he has brainwashed himself into thinking the opposite of what he used to think.
The four officers were unanimous that a concealed-carry weapon law such as Florida's would be a benefit in Illinois, reducing violent crime hugely. As one of the officers pointed out, there is no place more polite than a gun shop. But they also recognized the likelihood our state will ever approve CCW is dismal.
Gun laws are essentially a joke, they said. They are written for people who will obey them — not criminals. The officers said banning guns in the United States would eliminate murder just as banning drugs has eliminated cocaine. We sure showed the pushers on that one, didn't we?
Opposition to guns has nothing to do with logic. It's all emotion. One officer has never been able to flip a gun-hater with reasonable argument. But he has managed to flip a few women by actually taking them out shooting. After a couple of hours on the range, they realize that the recoil is not going to knock them down and that the gun is not going to jump off the table and start killing people.
In fact, amazingly enough, some women even decide that shooting is fun.
Time passed, and I realized I had better get home and tend to my new dog. So I asked the officers to sum up for me in one sentence the message they wished to leave. It was this:
Guns are not bad; people are bad. A citizen can't count on the police. He has a moral duty to protect himself and his family from bad people. And the most effective way to do so is to buy a gun and learn how to use it responsibly.
So, in the end, who are you going to believe? Four officers who have a combined total of 100 years of experience on the street?
Or Mayor Daley, the gun-banner who travels with a cadre of armed men ready to shoot anyone who might attack him?
Michael Bowers is a copy editor and page designer for The Star. Send e-mail to mbowers@starnewspapers.com.
