Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Sheriff’s message will fire up both sides

My column for the Daily News is online. It’s called, “Sheriff’s message will fire up both sides.” Here you go:

The Democratic sheriff of Milwaukee County, David Clarke, launched a public service announcement last week that is sure to resonate with both the supporters and the opponents of our right to keep and bear arms. Sheriff Clarke says, in part: “Your safety. It’s no longer a spectator sport. I need you in the game. But are you ready? With officers laid off and furloughed, simply calling 911 and waiting is no longer your best option ... . Consider taking a certified safety course in handling a firearm so you can defend yourself until we get there. You have a duty to protect yourself and your family. We’re partners now. Can I count on you?”

There is a lot in that short message but it has some folks applauding Clarke’s call for responsible self-defense and some deriding him for promoting vigilantism. As we parse Clarke’s statement, it covers a lot of intricate issues in a very short amount of time.

Clarke begins by stating that one’s safety “is no longer a spectator sport.” It is a curious statement because many of us never considered our safety a spectator sport. We take measures to protect ourselves and our families in a myriad of ways with the firm understanding that it is our own responsibility. We wear helmets, install smoke detectors, buy cars with more safety features, cook our meat thoroughly, wash our hands after using the restroom, and do many other things in order to protect ourselves from accidents, disease, natural occurrences, and the risks of life. Only in the matter of personal protection against our fellow man is there the apparent assumption, for some, that one’s safety is the responsibility of someone else.

The next part of Clarke’s message is that of a politician. He justifies the message by saying, “with officers laid off and furloughed ... .” This is the lament of a sheriff wanting more resources for his department. Over the years, Sheriff Clarke has done an outstanding job managing his budget, but his outspoken criticism of Milwaukee County government has drawn the ire of those who allocate the dollars.

Clarke uses the justification of a lack of resources to say, “simply calling 911 and waiting is no longer your best option.” Even with more resources, was calling 911 ever the best option for selfdefense? It is an old yarn, but when seconds count, the police are only minutes away. Even in the Sandy Hook massacre, the police arrived on site 20 minutes after the first 911 call. A lot of things can happen in 20 minutes, as history has proven.

Later in the message, Clarke gets to the heart of the matter. He calls on people to defend themselves until the police can arrive and encourages those who choose to use a firearm to do so to get some training. It is a good message. Whether you defend yourself or your home with a gun, knife, baseball bat, golf club or anything else, things happen quickly — even bad things. Operating a relatively complicated piece of machinery like a gun takes skill and experience. It is not something to do lightly, but when threatened with deadly force, few instruments of defense equal the power and effectiveness of a properly used gun.

Finally, Clarke reminds that, “You have a duty to protect yourself and your family.”

Duty.

It is a word and a concept that is often lost in today’s societal norms. The police certainly have a duty to protect and serve their communities, but they are not, nor can they ever be, omnipresent. Our personal safety and the safety of those we love is certainly a personal duty. There is nobody else to do it. Just you. Let us hope that everyone takes that duty seriously. If we all do, it will be a safer world.

Sheriff Clarke’s message was certain to rile, but it was also certain to make folks think about the best way to protect the things that matter most – our lives and the lives of those we love.

(9) Comments
Posted by Owen at 0630 hrs
Culture + Firearms + Politics + Politics - Wisconsin

  1. Be careful with that word “duty” when used with the police. They have no duty to protect you as many courts have ruled. The only one with a duty to protect you is yourself.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 29, 2013 at 1028 hrs


  2. I have to commend Sheriff Clarke for exposing folks to reality.  Reality may suck but thinking criminals will obey the law is just plain dumb.  Law enforcement has it’s place in our society but it is impractical to expect instantaneous presence anytime some type of peril is present.

    Although I am no fan of Sheriff Clarke, that he would say you have a duty to protect yourself and your family must come as a shock to those nice folks apparently living in a different world.  It is about time somebody said this.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 29, 2013 at 1141 hrs


  3. This has been an oustanding story.

    Liberals are literally saying we do not have a right to defend ourselves in reaction.

    Tom Barrett has been most fascinating.  A guy the gets beat up by a pipe wielding thug…is the perfect example that law enforcement cannot be everywhere.  Had Tom had a firearm and been trained to use it, he may have avoided the painful smackdown.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 29, 2013 at 1159 hrs


  4. Liberals are literally saying they would rather cower in fear than try to defend themselves or their family.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 29, 2013 at 1258 hrs


  5. It could have been a wonderful scenario if Mayor Barrett had some type of weapon to defend himself and his family but WEAPONS ARE BANNED AT STATE FAIR PARK.  I have not been able to find out if this will now apply to CWP holders but I assume it does.

    Understandably there are considerations to ban all weapons from the Fair but any of these should be properly weighed with what happened in August 2011 when Black ‘Mobs’ Attacked White Patrons Outside Wisconsin State Fair.

    Just a thought.  How about a metal detector at the bag search.  Non-CWP holders caught with a weapon would be arrested on the spot and CWP holders could enter.  If this were the rules, the Mayor would still be mugged but the rest of us could go about enjoying the Fair without fear of a Black ‘Mob’ or other thugs.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 29, 2013 at 1312 hrs


  6. Had Tom had a firearm and been trained to use it, he may have avoided the painful smackdown.

    Kevin S: Willing to beat someone to get his political views agreed with.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 29, 2013 at 1635 hrs


  7. VAPolitio:  Too cowardly to want to defend himself or his family.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 29, 2013 at 1722 hrs


  8. VA,

    Kevin S: Willing to beat someone to get his political views agreed with.

    How is wanting someone to have a gun to prevent a smackdown, wanting someone to get beat up?

    It’s liberals, wanting people to be defenseless, seem to be the ones that want people to be victims of criminals.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 29, 2013 at 1736 hrs


  9. So you either agree with Clarke or you prefer to cower in fear while your home is invaded by criminals who have been let out of jail by liberal judges.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on January 29, 2013 at 1910 hrs


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