Posted on 04/12/2008 5:38:40 AM PDT by marktwain
RICHMOND, Va. - Doug and Cheryl Camden were raised around guns but agreed not to keep them in their house after they got married and began raising five children of their own.
Then violent crime began to dominate daily news reports. Several businesses near their Chester restaurant were robbed, home invasions seemed to increase and the world just seemed to be getting much more dangerous.
"It's to the point where you can't walk through the park without getting attacked," Doug Camden said Friday.
So the Camdens are following the path taken by a sharply increasing number of Virginians: They're applying for concealed weapons permits so they can begin carrying a gun for self-protection.
Virginia Supreme Court statistics show that nearly 44,000 people applied for permits in 2007, an increase of more than 60 percent over the previous year. Applicants don't have to state a reason for seeking a permit.
Jack Kenny, a salesman at Bob Moates Sport Shop in suburban Richmond, said most handgun buyers say they fear for their safety. Some are afraid of home invasions while others want to carry a gun in their car, he said.
Doug Camden said he plans to carry his .38 special to work. He also rides a motorcycle and wants to be able to legally tuck the handgun away in a duffel bag for his pleasure trips into the mountains.
His wife was the one who suggested that with most of their children now grown, it was time for the couple to arm themselves.
"There are a lot of times with him working at the restaurant that I'm by myself at home for several hours at night," Cheryl Camden said. "It's frightening to be a woman in today's society, it really is."
Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, suggested last year's Virginia Tech shootings are partly responsible for the sharp increase in concealed weapons permit applications. That incident and other mass murders show that "police can't and probably won't be there if you need them in a really tight emergency, where seconds make the difference between dying and living," Van Cleave said.
The New Year's Day 2006 slayings of a Richmond couple and their two young children also caused a spike in the number of people seeking concealed carry permits, according to Joel Kliesen, manager of Dominion Shooting Range in Richmond. Dominion offers training courses that are required of permit applicants.
"Then after Virginia Tech, I had a lot of students in the class I taught who mentioned that's why they were here," Kliesen said.
Although reasons for obtaining a permit are somewhat varied, a common thread seems to be self-protection in an increasingly violent society.
Denise Hatch of Richmond, owner of a construction company, said she and her husband obtained permits after being robbed at gunpoint twice in the last year.
The Hatches and Matt Finefrock of Mechanicsville also renovate distressed properties, which takes them into some dangerous neighborhoods. Finefrock, who obtained his concealed carry permit earlier this year, also is planning to become a bail bondsman.
"There's a lot of cash involved, so you're kind of a target," he said.
Political considerations also are a factor for some permit applicants. Kliesen said many of his students fear a victory by either of the Democratic candidates for president could lead to tighter gun controls. Doug Camden agrees.
"I want to own a gun while I still can," he said. "I'm afraid I may lose my right."
Kliesen said Dominion has had to increase its training courses to accommodate demand. According to state law, permit applicants must prove they have received safety training. They also must be 21, pass a criminal background check and certify that they are not subject to a restraining order or addicted to a controlled substance.
The General Assembly passed legislation in 1995 that eliminated most judicial discretion in approving or denying applicants. Peter Hamm, spokesman for the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, said that was a mistake.
"It's hard to understand why reasonable people wouldn't support allowing police or judges to say we don't think it's a good idea for you to carry a gun around if someone has been threatening a spouse, for instance," Hamm said.
The telling quote in the article:
"I want to own a gun while I still can," he said. "I'm afraid I may lose my right."
Sheeeesh! That's do him a LOT of good! /s
“I’m afraid I may lose my right.”
Fear not, it is a God given right, reinforced by the
Constitution.
If anyone is stupid enough to threaten my spouse, they would be well advised to consider that she shot a very high score on the TXCHL qualification shoot.
And... that's after they get past me; I was two points under perfect..shooting a palm-sized AMT Backup....
As my old Pappy taught me,
"Son, no male is a real man if he lets anyone mess with his wife, his kids or his dog..."
I live by those words. Anyone who threatens my wife, kids or grandkids is asking for a heap o' trouble...
"There's a lot of cash involved, so you're kind of a target," he said.
This is an incredibly strong indicator that the social mores in the bad parts of town have broken down completely.
It used to be that, no matter HOW bad the neighborhood, 3 groups of people were sacrosanct and the boyz n da hood wouldn't touch them: the public health nurse, the penny-premium life insurance salesman, and the bail bondsman. Everybody needed them worse than they needed whatever valuables they might be carrying.
Now it's every man for himself.
. An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.
And now their kids have been raised, for the most part, without the benefit of firearms education and responsibility.
Translation:
Your life for a gentler society is a price we're willing to pay.
Yo, Peter, who are the judges or police to decide who is reasonable? Oh, that's right, it's all about feelings.
BTW, Virginia is an open carry state. No permits are required for purchase or possession.
Ha! I've been carrying a .45 for almost fifteen years.
Now I constantly feel like I'm walking around in a "banana hammock" because I recently switched over to a breezy little 9mm ;o)
You forgot one: The Probation & Parole Officer. Nobody ever messed with me when I carried that badge back in the 1980s. In fact since as an ex-army officer I was usually given the baddest of the bad when the new arrivals came into the office I was allowed the luxury of being armed when it was not dept policy. However according to law we were certified state law enforcement officers and able to be lawfully armed. My boss said that due to my expertise in weapons (XO of the division pistol team when I was active duty) and an infantry captain to boot, they figured it was an idea that supported my continued employment and survival. He just warned me that if I ever had to shoot..... make sure it was a good shoot. Thereafter I carried a 1911 45.
But my real insurance was my BAD actors. I told these guys up front that if anybody in the 'hood ever messed with me or my vehicle that I'd violate their parole and put them back inside. Believe me, nobody who has ever been to a real state prison ever wants to return! Folks on Probation are actually harder to handle 'cause they've only spent time in a county lock-up. They think that makes them real baaaaaaad dudes. They have no idea that they'd have a hard time surviving the predators in the state prison.
Anyway, whenever I had a new "client" (lol) he'd always introduce me around the 'hood and he'd tell them flat out: "Look here, this white man is my PO. You mess with him or that car over there and you'll answer to ME! That was that. No problems ever. These days many POs are armed as a matter of course and the situation has deteriorated. The young studs have no respect for the old lobos and in fact the young 'uns are often looking to knock off the old guys for dominance of the area. Now it really is everyone for themselves.
Since the permit is good for 5 years, I'm going to guess that total permits is probably in the neighborhood of 150K, out of a population of 7.5M makes around 2% of the population.
Only a relatively small percentage in any state goes for their CCW, but they are the ones that make the streets safer for the rest. A professional criminal has to do a LOT of crimes to keep him in money, so his probability of running into a CCW within a few months of operating is rather high
And you forgot their Eligibility Worker (welfare). They used to wave to me as I drove thru the hood. They all knew the county taggged cars the Welfare Dept. used.
The MSM is slowly catching up.
Another contribution to your "stats" might be that the armed ones have a higher probability of actually going out for a walk or whatever, in the PM, thereby making it more likely that the perp will meet one.
Now they don't seem to care if somebody is a P&PO, a beat cop, or whoever. Just rob 'em all.
I can't reconcile myself to 9mm. For one thing, it is a royal pain to reload.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.