Fears and emotions: they are the fuel that run the gun-phobic machine in our society. People who fear good guys with guns can’t see the irrationality of their fears.
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — Many Kalamazoo-area parents are outraged after a father legally brought his handgun to his toddler’s music class.
Under Michigan law, someone who holds a valid concealed pistol license can openly carry a firearm in schools even if the school has designated itself a weapon-free zone. The father in this situation has a CPL.
The class at the center of the controversy, which is held once a week at Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency’s West Campus, is for children and parents to attend together. Following school procedure, police and administrators have escorted the open-carrying father to and from the class and the school has been locked down during his three visits over about the past month.
So, administrators lock down the school because a father wants to ensure the safety and security of himself and his child? Tell me, who is going to be more motivated to ensure the safety and well-being of himself and his child than the parent himself? Clearly, those who are “outraged” irrationally believe, for whatever reason, that gun owners are a bad breath moment from going postal.
At a meeting Monday evening, many upset parents voiced their concerns and frustrations about the situation. Margaret Wilson, whose 3-year-old is in the class, said the man and his gun have created fear and crippled learning:
“By A) having the gun in the classroom and B) by the response by bringing in more guns to deal with the gun that’s there,” she said.
Created fear? That would be a self-created fear, not a legitimate fear. Does Margaret have that same mental disorder around police officers?
That’s right: the school has brought in a police escort for the father. Most of our readers at Guns Save Life would probably agree there are better uses for police resources than to escort a card-carrying good guy to his kid’s class.
Many parents referenced the Kalamazoo-area shooting spree of Feb. 20, saying it was a source of heightened fear.
Indeed, it probably weighs on this gun-carrying parent’s mind as well. It seems the simple solution to this is for Michigan to join other states with statutes that allow concealed carry (with a concealed carry license) on school campuses.
The school should remove all chairs and replace them with liberal paranoid approved fold out fish net fenced soft net ” safe zone ” for the big children in the room. The big wet/dry shop vacuum will be available for surprise spills and big waddies in their pants.
Just because he has the right doesn’t mean this guy isn’t also a giant d-bag. Anyone that doesn’t realize that the sight of an openly carried gun in the vicinity of a toddler’s music class might cause alarm has brain problems. Yes he has the right in his state, but it is discourteous. I’m sure he realizes that though. So much for “an armed society being a polite society.”
This is called “EDUCATION,” itself.
If people become acclimated to seeing good guys with guns, the ALARUM will subside and eventually DISAPPEAR!
This guy apparently wasn’t like the texas AK47 open carriers, but rather had a personal protection device that holds nicely on his hip.
We MUST do this!
So much fail, so little time. I’ll take one little example:
“So much for “an armed society being a polite society.””
Sorry, slowboy, one person does not make a society. He’s not the one locking down the school and escorting himself from the property. The ones doing that are the people who get the vapors at the sight of a legally-worn holstered pistol. If they were armed, that would make a society, one that would indeed be polite. They would see no reason to over-react.
He did this knowing the reaction he would get, given the 3 previous instances that this occurred. Are the other parents and teachers over-reacting? Yes, they are. Is bringing a gun into this music class and causing a ruckus going to win over hearts and minds? No, it absolutely will not.
This guy just pushed a bunch of people into the anti-gun camp. Where before they may have been fence sitters, they are now angry. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean that you necessarily should. If your goal is to acclimate people seeing open carriers, then do that over time in less sensitive places. But to go into a music school for toddlers is just a bad tactic.
Those who have irrational fears of the presence of firearms in the hands of good people can get over it. Suck it up, buttercups.
Looks like the law in Michigan does not allow for concealed carry in his situation, so he had to open carry. If that is the case then I retract what I said about him. He did what he was required to do.
The law should be changed to allow concealed carry though. I do think that open carry should be legal but people should still be considerate of others. Yes their fear is irrational but provoking them is not a good way to win people over.
Funny how peoples afraid of regular folks with guns are perfectly ok when cops come in with theirs, their duty belt & bullet proof vests. What in their minds makes those two peoples so different. The regular guy might even be 10 times more trained with his and 10 times more careful. Just goes to show how the media does a great job at telling the masses what to think.
Those who are upset about his legal right to carry should move to New York or some other country.
Mixed emotions here for sure!
Yes, even though the parent had legally become qualified for open carry, and even if he was exercising that right to prepare himself for self defense or the defense of his child, OR any other person who may have potentially become a victim, he could just as well have accomplished all of the above honorable actions by carrying concealed, and therefore not alarming the sheeples that simply cannot understand and accept the fact that Guns Save Life.
You lose your tactical advantage if you open carry….the “bad guy” if there was one present during music class would have taken out Dad first thing before firing on anyone else or would have gone for Dad’s firearm….same thing can be said if you are wearing your NRA hat, cargo pants or any type of camo clothing….you need to blend in with the “sheeple”….that is what a good sheep dog does so well.
I am forced to agree. It is tactically best to blend in.
If what you say is true cops should be an endangered specie right now,not counting the fact that they rush into dangerous situation day in day out. Where is the never ending list of cops that got shot first cause they open carry in the presence of criminals? You guys use that excuse to comply to the liberals who don’t want to see your guns and what’s worse, a lot of you believe it.
Somehow I’m thinking this guy would be happy to conceal it, but Michigan law doesn’t allow for that to be done.
Some people slowly wade into the water at the lake and cringe each time they inch deeper into the water. Some people jump in head first and experience a brief moment of shock and quickly become acclimated to the change. Which way is better? To each there own I guess. For me I am so tired of the anti’s bitching about their (irrational) fear at the sight of a gun that I have changed my opinion about how to acclimate these gun fearing twits. If we were to wade into the topic it would take years if not a decade. I waited my entire adult life (40+ years) here in Illinois for the right to defend myself. All of the anti’s dire predictions (blood in the streets, shooting over parking spots or checkout lines, etc.) have never proven to materialize in any state. Instead crime goes down. If they can’t understand that they are actually mislabeling their feels and calling it logic, then screw them. When the police are called so often that they start to rebuke the complainers constantly maybe then they will stop the bitching. Until then I applaud the jumpers.
I want to remove the restriction of open carry in Illinois. I think it should be our choice and we shouldn’t become criminals due to the lack of a few thousandths of an inch of cloth. I’m sure that there will be a few that use open carry to make some anti’s in Oak Park or Evanston mad at the coffee shops, but I think just like in other states that will be the exception rather than the rule. For myself, I just want to walk on the State trails in the Summer without having an extra shirt on when it’s 90 degrees. I don’t see many people on the I&M Canal towpath where I like to walk and I’m guessing no one will even notice. Or just walking around the neighborhood at night. Same thing. Personally I wouldn’t be open carrying to upset others, but for my convenience. And I should be able to do this without becoming a criminal. It is supposed to be my right to Bear arms.
While I don’t want to open carry myself, I think it’s coming. 43 states have it now. Or is it 44. Wouldn’t be surprised if we’re among the last couple of states, but it is what it is.
Then, campus carry will be the next type of carry approved across America. A little late for all those victims of violence on school campuses across America, but for future generations, they’ll benefit.
Sam
I believe that some are commenting here without fully understanding the circumstances. The father in question can carry openly in the school, because that is permitted for persons who hold a concealed=carry permit, but he cannot legally carry concealed there. Open carry is the only legal carry for him. His choice is to carry openly, or not carry.
Virginia used to have a similar situation in that one could carry openly into a restaurant (Virginia does not have public bars) that served alcohol, and drink (if the establishment would serve you and you were dumb enough to do that) but a person holding a concealed-carry permit could not carry concealed, even though the person was not drinking. We finally got that law changed, although it took years to do so.
This sheds new light on the situation. I thought this guy was trying to make a statement by choosing to open carry rather than carrying concealed. If the choice was open carry or no carry, then he did what he had to do.
Bad guys don’t use holsters. Good guys don’t brandish their weapons.
Good politicians don’t make bad laws.
I fear leftist liberals who write sexually explicit poetry while cowering under their desks, peeing their pants when they see a gun.