“If your department would like to reduce the number of Michigan residents who open carry in Michigan schools, I would encourage you, as a department, to endorse laws that would remove barriers to concealed carry in schools. Please reply to this letter in writing providing to me your assurance that your department will abide by the laws of the state and will not in any way illegally restrict the rights of citizens.” – Joshua Wade in Man who carried gun into Ann Arbor school pens letter to police chief [at mlive.com]
“…department will abide by the laws of the state and will not in any way illegally restrict the rights of citizens.”
More April fools material?
Not this. It’s the real deal, although I understand your skepticism. 😀
The entire letter is pretty good, actually.
The comment section of the article is a pretty good opportunity to debate/discuss with the other side, who are leaving plenty of comments.
I suggest everyone go over there and try proselytizing, so to speak (I recognize a number of the people leaving comments from our side, like Uncommon_Sense and pwrserge, actually). There’s a lot of ignorance of the facts and faulty logic that could use gentle correction.
At the very least, it’s a good way to polish up on debating skills, which serve us well as POTG.
Yes, I have invested too much time trying to educate the fence sitters.
Speaking of educating, I am running out of steam. Can anyone provide links to reliable sources which show that concealed carry licensees commit violent crimes at a lower rate than sworn law enforcement officers?
There should be a TTAG link under Facts About Guns. Florida should have a number of studies, and WI concealed carry has also worked out well.
Keep fighting the good fight, brother. Here’s a link to the ccw-cop statistics: http://gunwatch.blogspot.com/2013/10/concealed-carry-permit-holders-are-one.html
But I don’t know if that’s the best statistic to use, as the author admits that “there are no complete and definitive sources of data that will give us an accurate ratio of unjustified homicides committed by police compared to CCW holders.”
It might be better to use this one, which is from the Texas Department of Public Safety and much more clear-cut as to how few CCW holders commit crimes: http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/RSD/CHL/Reports/ConvictionRatesReport2011.pdf
Fun fact: BGs don’t write protest letters.
We are not dealing with rational people. At the Ann Arbor school board meeting following the incident, an Ann Arbor resident said that the only reason most gun carriers aren’t criminals is because they just haven’t broken the law yet. I.e., eventually a gun carrier will snap and begin shooting people sooner or later.
With 100,000,000 law-abiding firearms owners, 10-12 million of whom have carry permits and ostensibly carry daily, just imagine how full our prisons would be if she were correct.
Don’t forget the 100,000 plus schools and universities in this nation. And we hear multiple times about each school shooting.
True. BGs are more the angry manifesto type.
It’s the reason I OC initially. I can do so without a license. Now, after OC’ing for seven years, I understand why early Americans considered that only criminals would conceal a weapon.
By Open Carrying, I am making the public statement that I have committed my life, to defend my people, my fellow Americans. I don’t have an excuse if a bad guy does bad things and I just stand by while my fellow countryman are targeted by human predators.
When the only people who are openly armed are agents of government, what messages does that send to those young minds year after year? They will be indoctrinated to rely on government for their protection and bearing arms is something that the individual ought to hide. They should see Mom, Dad, uncles, aunts, grandparents, and neighbors taking responsibility for their own safety and, by proxy, the students’ safety. They should learn by example that government exists to augment the rights and responsibilities of the People, not replace them.
Welp, looks like they pulled the comments section on the article.
Talk about fostering opportunities for fair and bipartisan discussion! How typical.
Whoops, looks like the comments section is still online. That was weird. My bad.
April Fools indeed.
If you have not read the entire article and the letter that Joshua Wade authored, you should. He makes several very valid and well thought out points. It appears his main issue, which I missed at first, is that it is illegal for him to carry a concealed weapon into the school even though he has a permit. However, it is NOT illegal for him to openly carry that weapon into the school as a CW permit holder. He is merely asking that the laws be changes so that he would be allowed to carry his weapon concealed, with his permit, rather than be forced to carry it openly. Seems like a very reasonable request to me.
This is accurate. In Michigan, if you have a CPL, you are forced to open carry in schools as concealed carry is unlawful. Only open carry is lawful.
100%, Unfortunately I see the ak carried as Chipotle Grill all over again. Why not a holstered pistol? I’m all for someone exercising rights, but I don’t understand the choice of firearm.
Desensitization is one reason some choose a long gun. Deterrence is another.
He was carrying a holstered pistol. Most people either didn’t notice or didn’t care. He’s carried a holstered pistol there before without incident. Many parents and family openly carry holstered pistols in Michigan schools. Well, “many” is relative.
Desensitization is not the same as shock value, sheeple are afraid of “machine guns” or anything that looks like one. The people are free to exercise their rights anyway they want, but I will not be using the same tactic.
@Jeff the Griz: Thankfully, we can still choose and I support your freedom to make a choice. Carry on.
Comments are closed.