Weer'd World

Uncle Jesse sent me this fantastic story of a Black Reporter and her journey to owning and carrying guns.

Go read the whole thing, as I can’t do it a lick of justice by dropping quotes. I will wet your beak with this one:

Journalists, like activists, must be proactive in the face of bleak statistics and violent events. For me, learning to handle and shoot a gun seemed the most direct way to fend off growing feelings of vulnerability. But what started out as a simple intention to earn a concealed handgun license and buy a weapon ended up as a yearlong quest that involved a few stops at the gun range, being fingerprinted by Texas authorities, and staring for months at the incomplete application on my desk.

People presume that tall black women like me are tough and sufficiently able to protect ourselves. But I wanted an additional layer of insurance for my freedom to explore, unfettered, the realms I pursued as a journalist. As my own process unfolded, I noticed that the number of stories about women shooting for recreation or buying guns for self-defense had started to multiply. Each made me think about the limits of self-protection and question what, if anything, gun ownership would mean for my work and life not just as a journalist, but as a womanist/feminist.

Seriously, go read it!

This is an old saw, but a new article:

County deputies recently encountered a man who was carrying a concealed weapon under his shirt as he was jogging. He had a concealed-carry permit. But while he was a county resident, his permit was from Florida

It’s all legal. Ohio has reciprocity agreements with 23 other states that allow permit holders from those states to carry their concealed weapons in Ohio. A few of those states, including Florida and Utah, issue permits to nonresidents….Some people get permits from other states to avoid being listed in Ohio’s law-enforcement database. As a result, local sheriff’s departments and the Ohio Attorney General’s office don’t know how many Ohio residents have concealed-carry permits from Florida, Utah, or elsewhere.

Maj. Ronald Keel of the Lucas County Sheriff’s Department said that lack of knowledge makes traffic stops more dangerous. When deputies stop a vehicle, they check the license plate before they approach the driver. But if an Ohio driver has a concealed-carry permit from another state, that information won’t show up on their computer.

If Police really think this, then they are being DANGEROUSLY stupid. Let’s say my tail light burns out, or I get clocked going over the posted speed limit. The cops approach my car, and I’m carrying a gun.

Now what? I talk with the officer, I get a ticket or a warning, I drive on. Even some of these massive tickets traffic cops are handing out, it isn’t worth a felony murder or threat charge.

Meanwhile cops stop a car because of a warrant, or the car stolen, or the driver is shitfaced drunk….if their database says the owner of the car (remember the car thief scenario) is without a permit the officer just ASSUMES the person is unarmed?

BULLSHIT! Being a cop isn’t an easy job, and bullshit like this isn’t really relevant. Actually its the other way. If the person has a permit that means they are NOT a felon, and not wanted for warrants. Of course you still need to keep an eye on them, you never know…but somebody who’s LAWFULLY carrying a gun has a LOT more to lose than somebody who is UNLAWFULLY carrying a gun.

Massachusetts has zero reciprocity with other states. I have no idea how my permit comes up on the laptop in the Police Cruiser, but let’s assume it does. Does this somehow make cops safer?

Hell even in the standard bullshit, I’ve been riding in cars with people who don’t have permits. I’m carrying a gun, but the driver and owner doesn’t….then what?

If cops follow the logic of this piece it will GET THEM KILLED!