Armed citizens as first responders

Cleveland Gun Rights Examiner ^ | 17 March, 2009 | Daniel White

[wastedyears]

Fifth Amendment takes care of criminals and the mentally insane.

No new laws needed.

[wastedyears]

I think he means somebody with a police-band scanner in their car, listening to the traffic on the airwaves.

[NFHale]

“...Fifth Amendment...”

I refuse to comment on that on the grounds of self-incrimination...:^)

[familyop]

"And I don’t think that the situation you outlined is the spirit of the original discussion article...this article is more concerned with an on-the-spot situation in which an armed citizen inadvertantly and unavoidably finds him/herself in the middle of a life-or-death situation, confronted by an active shooter."

The title of the piece is "Armed citizens as first responders." It's common knowledge that first responders are almost never at the scene, although they do tend to arrive in a hurry. Let's have a look at a few of the analogies in the article.

* "In the field of medicine, the Golden Hour refers to the period of time immediately following a traumatic injury..."

* "It is often the first responders, preferably paramedics, who have the greatest impact on a victim's survival."

* "Before we get into that, though, let's take a brief look at the history of the individuals most people associate with the term "first responder," and that is paramedics."

* "...hopefully we can look forward to a time when CHL holders are seen as an essential piece of the puzzle for ensuring public safety during those crucial initial minutes following a violent criminal attack."

Yes. Maybe there will be ten of them or so listening to their scanners only a few blocks away. More manpower is better, especially when it's charged with plenty of adrenaline and for most men, nearly no training for combat situations. ...right? Do you know about the many people who already listen to their scanners and race to the scenes of crimes in hopes of viewing spectacles?

Yes. In the middle of his article, the author described scenarios where concealed carry permit holders might be present, but the "spirit" of the piece is in the colorful analogies that are written to get our attention the most.

[familyop]

"'Scanner kook?' I'm not familiar with that terminology. Is that like calling a Second Amendment supporter a 'gun nut?'"

Now why would I do that? "Gun nuts" are known by their blindness, hairy palms and tendency to go off half cocked.

[familyop]

You know. “This is my rifle, this is my gun. I didn’t spend up to 20 hours in fire rotations for fun.”

Yours,

Cordite Breath

[NFHale]

“..It’s common knowledge that first responders are almost never at the scene, although they do tend to arrive in a hurry...”

Then I must have misread or misunderstood it.

Maybe it should be titled “Immediate Responders” instead.

Carry on.

[Voice of Reason88]

The "golden hour" becomes the "golden minute" when it comes to self defense situations.

I would only argue that should read: “The Golden seconds”.

[familyop]

I agree with the gist of what commenters are saying here in regards to armed citizens being at the scenes of crimes to begin with. I’m glad to be out in the middle of nowhere these days, though. ;-)

[familyop]

"Then I must have misread or misunderstood it."

Well, I'll admit that my perception on those situations is probably different from that of most Americans. I once lived in a terribly seedy and corrupt area. ...protected others and cleaned up trash there, privately and publicly, at times, then found out that the employers of the trash were my bosses and clients. That's why I quit doing that sort of thing and moved out to the middle of nowhere. ...guess that I should enjoy this new environment and try to quit being a nitpicking, cynical, grumpy, old man.

And BTW, here's another good one worth looking into, IMO. They've taken action on some cases that others were too politically correct to bother with.

http://www.ccrkba.org/

[NFHale]

Being old, cynical, nitpicky and grumpy is a VIRTUE, brother :^) I’m there myself.

[Voice of Reason88]

Question: Why do you carry a gun?

Response: Why do have fire extinguishers? Why do you have first aid kits?

Why is it so difficult for those that want to disarm the law-abiding that You carry a gun In case of emergency?

It's Just like any other piece of emergency equipment

Why can't those ying-yangs understand that simple concept?

[cable2001]

Freepers, thank you for reading my article.

By “first responder” I did indeed mean what NFHale said,”an armed citizen inadvertantly and unavoidably finds him/herself in the middle of a life-or-death situation, confronted by an active shooter.”

It was my intent to broaden the term “first responder” to go beyond what are traditionally thought of as the first responders (police, fire, ems) and extend it to include armed citizens, who are also trained and able to respond to an emergency situation, albeit a different kind.

[NFHale]

One team, one fight folks.

All on the same side out here, regardless.

LFOD

[familyop]

Agreed. Readers, see comments #33 and #34 before this one.