After Westgate, Interpol Chief Ponders "Armed Citizenry"

ABC News ^ | Oct. 21, 2013 | Josh Margolin

[digger48]

Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble said today the U.S. and the rest of the democratic world is at a security crossroads in the wake of last month’s deadly al-Shabab attack at a shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya – and suggested an answer could be in arming civilians.

In an exclusive interview with ABC News, Noble said there are really only two choices for protecting open societies from attacks like the one on Westgate mall where so-called “soft targets” are hit: either create secure perimeters around the locations or allow civilians to carry their own guns to protect themselves.

“Societies have to think about how they’re going to approach the problem,” Noble said. “One is to say we want an armed citizenry; you can see the reason for that. Another is to say the enclaves are so secure that in order to get into the soft target you’re going to have to pass through extraordinary security.”

[marktwain]

Oops, dropped a decimal! It is 1.97, not .197

It has been revised with better numbers.

It is now .542 for CCW holders,

1.97 for the general population.

http://gunwatch.blogspot.com/2013/10/minnesota-carry-permit-murder-rates_16.html

[Peet]

First:
...Noble said there are really only two choices for protecting open societies from attacks like the one on Westgate mall...

Then:
Societies have to think about how they’re going to approach the problem,” [SNIP] Another is to say the enclaves are so secure that in order to get into the soft target you’re going to have to pass through extraordinary security.

Those two seem ("seem" heck, are) mutually exclusive.

[mbennett203]

OK. I don’t want a rectal examination by a security agent to go shopping, so... Guns it is.

[Old Teufel Hunden]

“One is to say we want an armed citizenry; you can see the reason for that. Another is to say the enclaves are so secure that in order to get into the soft target you’re going to have to pass through extraordinary security.”

This is the government, so which way do you think these countries are going to choose? That's right, get ready for the super rectal exam just to get into your local mall. On the plus side, it should make internet shopping even bigger....

[Pilsner]

Wow. We appear to finally have an Interpol Secretary General about whom you can say something better than, "He's not as bad as some of his predecessors, like Reinhard Heydrich."

or Ernst Kaltenbrunner

[dfwgator]

I wonder how many people even know that?

[William Tell]

marktwain wrote: ".197 for the general population."

I think you meant to write, "1.97 for the general population", which is over three times the CCW holders' rate.

[LoneRangerMassachusetts]

It has been revised with better numbers.
It is now .542 for CCW holders,
.197 for the general population.

If you are going to report good news, you had better watch those decimal points. 1.97 over 0.542 is good. 0.197 over 0.542 is bad. Back to school for you.

[marktwain]

Mea Culpa!