Dad backs arming journalists

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO — “It’s better to have a gun and not use it than to have none when you need it.”

Within the guiding principle, San Fernando City Councilor Alex F. Patio is taking steps to promote responsible gun ownership, especially among media personalities.

As a step, Patio will be opening on Saturday his first-ever shooting competition at the Maimpis Firing Range in Barangay Maimpis in the city dubbed as the “1st Councilor Alex F. Patio Cup”.

Patio said the competition, which will be sanctioned by the Philippine Practical Shooters Association (PPSA), aims to show the public the bright side of responsible gun ownership.

“For so many decades now, the social stigma that gun owners are usually violent and abusive individuals remain and this is one of the reasons why we are promoting such competitions,” he said.

Patio said the competition, which will be participated in by various gun owners’ organizations in the country, also aims to promote the gun ownership as a sport.

In fact, he said, the winners in the competition may be drafted for future international competitions.

The councilor said responsible gun owners could be deputized by the government to respond to emergencies that the police or barangay officials could not readily respond to.

Gun owners, he added, could be deterrent to crimes as lawless elements would hesitate to pull off their criminal acts in areas where responsible “shooters” are around.

“Criminals would think twice before committing their scams when they know that there are people who could properly protect themselves, like gun owners,” Patio said.

He however said just like any other individual, gun owners should also be held liable for any abuse in such authority given them.

Media practitioners, Patio added, should also be allowed to own guns as they are prone to danger inherent to their occupation.

“I fully support the proposal to arm journalists because of the danger posed by their occupation. To assure that these people effectively perform their duties in providing relevant information to the public, they should be guarded from threats to their lives,” he said.

Media practitioners, Patio added, should also be allowed to own guns as they are prone to danger inherent to their occupation.

Media practitioners already get preferential treament from law enforcement in handing out CCW permits. That's why a wife-beater like Sean Penn can carry concealed, but a non-celebrity like myself has to break the law to carry concealed.

My neighbor is (for lack of a better description) a narcotics officer with the county Sheriff's Dept. We think a LOT alike. I suggested to him once that something like this could be done in an emergency. I suggested that every individual with a DD-Form 214 an Honorable Discharge, and a suitable weapon and ammo could be deputized. More so if you had an MOS, or AFSC in law enforcement or security.

He thought it was a GOOD idea, but agreed with me that we'd deal with the same problem that we've seen with the airlines. It goes like this...

A fighter pilot in the U.S. military is discharged, and less than a month later he's flying commercial jets. Suddenly the man become "unqualified" in the eyes of the public to carry a handgun, in spite of the fact that he was responsible for some a month earlier which was nothing more than an airborne weapons platform on a grand scale. Not to mention that he probably carried an M-9 most of the time in a shoulder holster.

I sort of doubt journalists are going to want to be armed. I think most of them are happy to further the leftist agenda. If they really wanted to, they could go purchase suitable weaponry, practice, and even get a CC permit.

It's a great idea, but the left will scream about the blood that will run in the streets on account hoards of armed reports covering stories.

On a more practical level (as my neighbor and I were discussing), most people who simply own firearms but have NO law enforcement or physical security experience could be deputized for only the most simplest of tasks. Even if the militias were "called up" most people aren't aware that they would fall under the UCMJ, much less anything about the details and obligations entailed. I have no certifications other than one courtesy of the USAF, but I've trained a lot of people to shoot under less than desirable, and stressful situations, as well as tasks such as entry and perimeter control. There's a LOT more to it than most people realize.

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