Posted on 10/06/2005 6:41:57 PM PDT by jdege
Conceal carry laws should not include privacy provisions
By Susan MacLaughlin
When my step-dad died last spring, my family began a long process of clearing out his personal possessions. Some we gave to charity, and others, including family heirlooms, were dispersed among his children, siblings and nieces and nephews.
As we culled through his closet, I was shocked to learn that my family owned a gun. I deserve the right to at least know they have that power.
What floored me was when my mom nonchalantly asked me to take the gun out to my uncle's truck. I had never touched a gun before.
However, not wanting to make waves, I did it. And, despite being in its case, in poor repair and most importantly unloaded, I somehow worried that I'd shoot myself. I was scared throughout the minute-long walk outside to the driveway.
I never want to touch a gun again.
And I don't know if I'd want a gun in my house again, either.
Last Thursday, state Sen. Dave Zien, R-Eau Claire, and state Rep. Scott Gunderson, R-Waterford, introduced legislation that would allow people to carry concealed weapons. Zien also championed a similar bill two years ago that was vetoed by Democratic Governor Jim Doyle.
The current piece of legislation makes me nervous. I don't like the idea of not knowing if Joe Schmo walking down the street is packing or not.
What's worse is that in its current form, the legislation states this vital information about who is carrying a concealed weapon should be kept totally private - even from law enforcement.
This would mean that in situations like routine traffic stops, officers would not be able to check to see if the vehicle's owner had a permit to carry a concealed weapon.
Despite what the National Rifle Association says, it is in fact guns, not people alone, that kill other people. Those hired to keep us safe have a right to expect a certain degree of protection as well. We owe it to our officers to give them information about potentially dangerous situations, especially if we have it right at our fingertips.
If officers don't know who has a gun or not, they will likely have to treat everyone as if they are carrying a dangerous weapon. And really, would you blame them?
Further, the public has a right to know who is and is not carrying a concealed weapon.
Zien and Gunderson said in a recent Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article it wouldn't be fair to those choosing to conceal weapons, because it would make them targets in criminal investigations, even if they didn't have a reason to suspect them.
You know what? Tough. If people feel the need to conceal weapons, they should expect some consequences. And maybe being questioned now and then will be one of those consequences. If they don't commit crimes, they should have little to worry about.
When we're talking about something as serious as guns - which can take a life in an instant - a free flow of information is imperative.
I understand guns are a necessary part of life. People use them to hunt. Police officers and the men and women in the armed services use them for protection. I understand the Bill of Rights guarantees we all have the right to bear arms.
I don't understand letting anybody who jumps through small hoops walk through the streets with a gun in their back pocket.
I certainly don't understand not giving the public and the police fair warning. If someone holds the power to surprise me and take my life in a matter of seconds, I deserve the right to at least know they have that power.
If people are given the choice to conceal and carry weapons, the rest of us should be given the opportunity to have an informed choice on weather or not to associate with them.
MacLaughlin is a senior print journalism major and editorial editor of The Spectator. Mac Mouths Off is a weekly column that appears every Thursday.
Here in Arizona, if I'm stopped by the police and they run a license check on me, they will see that I hold a CCW permit. It's good for them in case I'm driving drunk or talking suicidal or on the wrong end of a high-speed chase. The police deserve to have all the information they can get when dealing with a potential bad guy.
Well, I'd like to "be given the opportunity to have an informed choice on weather" as well. That's kind of a novel concept, I just dunno exactly how that would work.
Sad thing is, that may have been the most lucid comment in the entire article.
...
The current piece of legislation makes me nervous. I don't like the idea of not knowing if Joe Schmo walking down the street is packing or not.
This neurotic wretch makes ME nervous. There are people out there who think their hangups are everybody else's problem. Spooky, and discouraging.
Did she have to go to college to get that neurotic, or was she born that way?
As was stated a few posts below yours, it just gives the officer more info. And as the Ohio CCW holder said sometimes it causes the officer to show a little leeway. I'm also a CCW holder in AZ and most police will ask me if I'm carrying and then ask what I'm carrying. Some get real jealous when I'm wearing my Sig 229 or Kimber.:)AWB
Someone should advise this ninny that criminals like it even less.
If they treat you any differently in any of those cases because you don't have a CCW they are stupid and letting their families down.
The police deserve to have all the information they can get when dealing with a potential bad guy.
They certainly do and get it when they run your plates, including your arrest record, if any. I'm just saying that not knowing you have a CCW doesn't affect their safety one bit, so they have no need to know.
Seems to me it would actually make a LEO less nervous, knowing that in most respects they are dealing with a law abiding citizen.
Butthead has a sister?
Heck, the truck is a lot more "powerful" than a handgun. Someone bent on doing evil could do a lot more harm with a truck than with a gun. People who are neurotic about something always seem to want to make their neurosis public policy.
Do you mean after the hypothetical high speed chase they find out you have a CCW and then relax, realizing you are one of the good guys after all? Then if they find your gun they will not see it as a threat because they know you are not a criminal?
Certainly you are not suggesting that a CCW holder is a higher threat to an officer than a non CCW holder.
Does the author have X-Ray vision? Does the Concealed Carry Law eliminate it?
Earth to Susan. Come in Susan. The bad guys are already packing, whether you know it or not.
I read Crim's post with interest. What I got is that Ohio doesn't have the same law regarding informing the police that you have a CCW that AZ and MI do. It seems like the polite thing to do, and I'd likely do the same, except they already know. What I'm against is some curious cop seeing that you have a permit just because he ran your plates. There are a few officers here in MI who just don't like us plebes having the right to be armed, and show it.
" MacLaughlin is a senior print journalism major"
That did it for me. I have neither time nor interest to waste on what presstitutes say, write, or think about guns.
That's not important, dear. What's important is that Jose Schmolio over there likewise doesn't know if Joe Schmo is packing heat or not. That may save you from being raped by Jose if you're around Joe.
Clearer now?
They breath by hind brain reflex - sort of like a reptile.
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