Seniors Pack Heat for Protection

FOXNEWS.COM ^ | February 03, 2004 | NA

[neverdem]

Dorothy Maddock's eyes aren't what they used to be and she's hard of hearing, but like many seniors she refuses to be a victim and is packing heat for protection.

"The idiots that are out there, they don't care about us, what we have," said retiree Maddock. "They'd just as soon kill us for a buck than look at us."

[neverdem]

BANG

[billorites]

[Joe Brower]

[glock rocks]

Forty-six states now let citizens carry concealed weapons (search), but is it safe for seniors whose hand and eye coordination isn't what it used to be to own a firearm?

A Red Ryder? You'll shoot yer eye out!

[RobbyS]

Hand to eye co-ordination? The handgun is a shortrange weapon. All she has to b be able to do is get it out of her purse.

[Dubh_Ghlase]

"I can't run and I can't fight them," said Terry Shown.

And they can't drive! (gd&r)

Seriously, the thing that scares me is how quickly some seniors loose their facilties without realizing it and become a threat to others and themselves. Before you think I'm just shooting from the hip on this one, I can say with authority that I have been through this with several elderly relatives and friends. The concerns covered both driving and gun ownership. I can say that driving was the main concern, as they refused to give up their independance and continued to drive way past their capabilities. It wasn't until either an accident occurred, they got lost while driving, or law enforcement took control that they were taken off the road.

Dementia is another concern. This is rarer, but the thought of someone who is seeing perceived threats and having access to a firearm is very disconcerting. A caregiving relative or outside assistance may feel a bit more secure knowing the weapon they possess may not be operative. If the elderly person can't figure out their weapon is non-lethal, they they shouldn't have one in the first place. I'vem had to do this in 1 case in the past, and am looking at another here in the near future ...

[looscnnn]

"Hand to eye co-ordination? The handgun is a shortrange weapon. All she has to b be able to do is get it out of her purse."

If attacked by a group of bad guys, the shaky hands will really throw them off. They will not know which of them will get shot.

[cherry]

I don't blame people for wanting to protect themselves....the worse situation is to know you are going to be attacked, maybe killed, and you can do nothing about it.....well, a gun changes that, doesn't it?

but the bigger question is , can some elderly even drive, let alone have the wherewithall to pull the gun out safely and actually shoot in the right direction and at the right person in the right circumstances....

even a person of totally complete reflexes, judgement and other physical attributes can't always do that....

which brings me to my favorite theme.....why can't we live like generations ago, where the very young and the very old lived in one house, all working and contributing together, everyone protected by everyone else...

sure, its the "Waltons" but it worked for so many families....it could work today if the attitude was right...( both the attitude of the elderly who often seem like they want nothing to do with young people and younger people who often feel the same).

[IYAS9YAS]

If attacked by a group of bad guys, the shaky hands will really throw them off. They will not know which of them will get shot.

Am suddenly remembering the Clint Eastwood movie (Every Which Way but Loose or the other, can't remember which) where the "little old lady" dang near wipes out the Black Widows from the front porch with a shotgun. LOL!

[OldFriend]

Count me as one!

[ought-six]

"why can't we live like generations ago, where the very young and the very old lived in one house, all working and contributing together, everyone protected by everyone else..."

Want to know why? Because the seniors don't want to. My mother is almost 80, and a widow (my Father, who was married to my Mother for 57 years, died just this past Fall). Every one of her children (there are three of us) wanted her to come live with any one of us. She said, flat-out, "No!" She said she wanted to stay by herself. I know what some of you are thinking: The kids must have been hellions. Nope, it's just that seniors today are incredibly independent, having convinced themselves that they are fully capable of independent living.

[looscnnn]

"it's just that seniors today are incredibly independent, having convinced themselves that they are fully capable of independent living."

I think that is due to the majority of them have been without their kids for so long and not been dependent on anyone (I don't count being married as being dependent) that they feel it would not be a normal life for them to be dependent on the kids.

[looscnnn]

Besides not wanting to be a "burdon" on the kids.

[RamingtonStall]

Hey, they don't have to be able to hit the target, they merely have to get it out of their Purse or out of their Fanny Pack and show it to the "Perps" to get most "perps" to leave. Them that don't leave, get shot.

Just so the seniors remember to always carry and to always start with a minimum of 40 caliber.

Then, for their Home Defense Needs, a Mossberg 12 gauge or my own personal Favorite, My Winchester "Home Defender" 12 gauge Pump Shotgun with 4-Shot load. (00 Buck Shot is second choice.) The Easy to Rack "Home Defender" has an unmistakeable sound which any bad guys immediately recognize. Just in case they stay around, the short barrel has a rather large pattern which is bound to hit something.

Meanwhile, in Ohio, until after 9-APRIL-2004, remember to "OHIO CARRY" and be safe out there. After April 9, it's time for applying for your Concealed Carry License in Ohio!

"Ohio Carry" Rules!

RamS

[Kenton]

"Ohio Carry"?

Sounds like a term I'm not familiar with, care to enlighten me? Thanks.

Ken in Bedford

[Squantos]

Incrementalidiots at work whatif whatif whatif whatif......god created all men equal and Browning-Smith-Wesson- Colt-Kimber etc etc are doing their part to keep em that way. Grizzly old farts long in the tooth now have a real bite when attacked ! My 70 year old Mom is well versed in self defense and I take her to the range with me at least once a month and she is very capable and accurate with her revolver(s). She has 4 that I have given her. Each one is identical, S&W .38 snub nose Airweight 37's. One is kept in her purse as a CHL carry. And the rest are located around her home as she is fast in wit and slow in body these days but very capable of using the one she is closest too at the time of need.

Just my 2 cents........Stay safe !

[SLB]

My grand father who emigrated from Russia in 1911 kept a pistol, I do not remember - but probably a .38, in his night stand. A recent neighbor, passed away three years ago, kept a M1911A1 on his electric scooter he drove to get the mail and kept a 12 ga under the covers of his hospital bed in their living room. He would tell me that some day he was going to really surprise a BG who thought he was nothing but a harmless invalid.

[glock rocks]

It would be unwise to mess with any of the ole coots in my neighborhood... especially the ones with the collection of elk heads in their garage!

[RamingtonStall]

Hi Ken!

"Ohio Carry" is what we ended up with when the Ohio Supreme Court ruled on 25-SEPT-2003 that the then existing Laws against Concealed Carry were Constitutional (under the Ohio Constitution) because our Constitutional right to bear Arms for our protection and defense was still possible as long as we carried the firearms OPENLY. Of course, they figured that it was too impractical to "Open Carry" due to other Ohio Laws which made it illegal to carry a Loaded Firearm in a motor Vehicle. Hence, they figured they had us caught in a "Catch 22".

We Ohio Boys and Girls read carefully exactly what they said and decided that they had just proclaimed it LEGAL as a FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT to OPENLY CARRY Firearms in Ohio. And, they did this with no training requirements, no license required, etc.

We then posted on Bulletin Boards all over the Internet that the LEGAL way to carry Firearms in OHIO was to "OHIO CARRY" which entailed "OPEN CARRY" of Loaded Firearms when outside of the Vehicles and to Place the Unloaded Firearm in a Case which is then placed in the Trunk of the Automobile when in an Automobile.

We staged "DEFENSE WALKS" around the State, including the Governor's Mansion, the State House, etc, during October, November, and December. We also Openly carried Firearms when we shopped etc. explaining our Constitutional Rights to anyone who asked. Most people didn't even notice my Glock 27.

We then continued to write to Governor Bob Taft, President Bush, the National GOP and the OHIO GOP, threatening to vote against President Bush if the Ohio Republican Governor and the Republican Legislature did not deliver a Concealed Carry Law prior to the November Election. We reminded them that Ohio is a Battleground state and that our membership clearly exceeds Bush's margin of victory in 2000.

Governor Taft signed the CCW Law on January 7 and it goes into effect on April 9, 2004.

For more details and a day by day update, I would refer you to OHIOANS FOR CONCEALED CARRY ..... http://www.ofcc.net/

Cheers! ([: ^ )

RamS