Here in California we already have some of the most egregious and unreasonable gun control laws in America, the worst of which are two separate “assault weapons” bans (banning weapons by name and cosmetic features), and a 10 round magazine capacity limit.
Did these laws stop the shooter Friday? Have gun control laws stopped anyone from doing anything? Someone with a concealed carry permit could have.
In California, only the Sheriff of the county of your residence is allowed to issue concealed carry permits, and in Santa Barbara County, unless you are rich, white and make a sizable “donation” to Sheriff Brown’s election campaigns, you will not be issued a permit. In some counties the Sheriff requires prospective applications to go through the police academy, buy $1,000,000 in liability insurance and undergo a psychiatric evaluation. Imagine if they had the same requirements to attend the church of your choice or to protest a certain cause.
To obtain a permit, two of the (many) requirements are to show “good cause” and to be of “good moral character,” which give Sheriff Brown and his deputies a huge “out” to subjectively deny who can carry a concealed firearm. From what I understand, even inquiring about an application will cause an automatic denial when the paperwork is filed. The “correct” way to obtain a permit is to get a judge or elected official as a “sponsor” thus ensuring approval. But only rich white people have those connections, and a brown graduate student like myself does not. Then again, those same people are the ones who live in Montecito or Hope Ranch behind quarter-mile-long driveways and hire off-duty police officers for security, so they only carry a firearm when they’re in Downtown Santa Barbara or Old Town Goleta when around people who are aren’t as rich or white as they are.
The list of concealed carry permit holders is not subject to any privacy regulations, which defeats the purpose of obtaining a permit if anyone can find that you have one (except for police, judges, prosecutors, politicians and anyone else whose life the government has deemed more important than yours). In addition, concealed handgun permits are only valid for a short time, can be revoked for any reason by an existing or newly elected sheriff and you can only carry the firearm specified on your permit.
A concealed firearm could have saved George Ied’s life. A woman with a concealed firearm could make rapists and muggers think twice. Someone with a concealed carry permit could have done something against the shooter the other night. A concealed carry permit could benefit those who are beat up, robbed and stabbed (or worse) by the aggressive panhandlers and others in Downtown Santa Barbara. Concealed carry permit holders could actually do something against many of the violent drugged-up criminals who would attempt to attack them. But here in Santa Barbara Country, self-defense is a right reserved only for the rich and well-connected, which doesn’t make it a right at all. More like a privilege that only “special” people can have.
V. Shasty is a third-year mechinical engineering graduate student.
A version of this article appeared in the Thursday, May 29, 2014 print edition of the Daily Nexus.
Views expressed on the Opinion page do not necessarily reflect those of the Daily Nexus or UCSB. Opinions are submitted primarily by students.
There are so many holes in this ridiculous argument I am not even sure where to start. To suggest that if gun laws were more lax one of these students could have stopped the shooter is just naiveté at it’s worst. It has been documented with regularity that even in situations like this when a person is carrying a weapon they choose not to use it (See Tucson). Not to mention the potential confusion once police do respond – how do they know the “good guy” is vs. the “bad guy?” Who are the police supposed to target if ten… Read more »
“Not to mention the potential confusion once police do respond – how do they know the “good guy” is vs. the “bad guy?” Who are the police supposed to target if ten people in firing away wild west style? ”
Funny thing…it just doesn’t happen. There are many instances in which a CHL holder has downed an attacker and the police have had no trouble sorting out who is a danger to them.
It only takes a little thought to figure out how the cops can do that. Are you up to it?
The CHL holder usually takes the attacker by surprise… Cops are usually much easier for a shooter to identify. The shooter is never expecting the random Joe on the street to shoot back.
The element of surproise is what works in favor of the private citizen carrying.
that same element of surprise is what allows the shooter to shoot you before you can get your gun out. Works either way. I would argue unless you are trained in combat situation, once bullets start to fly your first thought (if you have one) is to take cover not stand there and reach for your gun. That is assuming you brought you gun w/ you when you wanted to go out to party. And hey a bunch of drunk kids armed with guns sounds great, I can’t think of how it would escalate a fight or anything not to… Read more »
Sorry Seth, it has been documented with regularity that good guys with guns stop bad guys. One repository of defensive gun uses can be found at reddit.com/r/dgu. The contributors submit the daily defensive gun uses as documented in local and nationwide news outlets. Given that most defensive gun use stories don’t get media attention unless someone is shot, it seems your argument is full of holes.
You think the second amendment is outdated? Then have it amended, simple as that. Put up or shut up.
Enjoy
http://www.businessinsider.com/canada-australia-japan-britain-gun-control-2013-1
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2013/09/19/u-s-has-more-guns-and-gun-deaths-than-any-other-country-study-finds/
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/05/27/how-the-gun-nuts-try-to-excuse-away-the-santa-barbara-slaughter-and-why-they-re-all-wrong.html
Guns, The constitution grantees an individuals right to own a gun, it also grantees a city or community the right to say you can not carry that gun. You can own it, take it out and go hunting with it, or even if it is one of them snake guns for protection you can not carry it in public. I am sorry but our cities and towns may not like people caring guns, our history is filled with cities and towns doing just that, controlling the guns for the protection of the community or town. Now to actually use all… Read more »
“also grantees a city or community the right to say you can not carry that gun.”
Really? So how does that square with the “bear” part?
What kind of a coward writes an editorial under a pseudonym? The same kind of coward who needs a gun to feel safe. The same kind of coward who places a 250 year old law written by slaveowners over his fellow man.
Gee, Jeff, why don’t you tell us how you really feel about about the Constitution? I mean, after all, it’s just a bunch of words written by slave owners.
It is. Stop fellating the Founding Fathers and think critically.
Well, thinking critically, if the 2nd Amendment is as outdated as, say, slavery or preventing women from voting, it should be a simple matter to gather folks together and amend the Constitution, right? Thinking critically, we are a Republic that was formed to protect individual rights. Not the rights of panicked, irrational people that want to try and legislate away senseless violence–but our natural right of self-preservation, using the Constitutionally guaranteed right to bear arms (the best tool for the job when prevention fails). After all, “those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve… Read more »
Anyone who argues against gun reform is so blinded by their own naivet, egotistical myopathy, that they can’t see such an obvious and simple fact; Mentally unstable and psychologically unfit individuals should not be able to purchase a gun. If you believe otherwise, you certainly, should not be able to purchase a gun. It’s absolutely fucking preposterous that while a physician can deem an individual unfit to drive a car, and therefore notify the DMV to revoke that privilege, there is no way for a physician to deem an individual unfit to purchase a gun, because federal background checks are… Read more »
Perhaps you should familiarize yourself with the current state of firearm laws and determine how they work, or don’t work. It would also benefit you to learn about the current state of mental health research and the laws and issues surrounding that. For instance, those suffering from mental health issues are far more likely to be the victim of violence than the perpetrator. I’ll even give you a place to start: http://depts.washington.edu/mhreport/facts_violence.php This mental health canard that’s trotted out as a source of all our evils is simply a 21st century witch hunt. The premise goes against everything we know… Read more »
Genius! Let’s give thousands of guns to the thousands of drunks on an average IV weekend and see how things turn out. That’ll for sure be the best form of prevention. Nobody would leave their house/apt. Enrollment would drop to zero and UCSB would be a ghost campus within a year.
Look kid, the left prefrontal cortex of your brain is not fully developed until you reach 25. That region is largely responsible for reason and decision making. When you grow up, you will realize how foolish you’re thinking actually is.
The enrollement at UTexas is very high, and they have lots of guns. So much for that argument.
Texas is gun country. California is not. Why dont you respond to the rest of my comment if you can.
So are you saying that Californians are somehow less competent or more irrational than Texans?
YEAH!
” To suggest that if gun laws were more lax one of these students could have stopped the shooter is just naiveté at it’s worst. ” Appalachian School of Law, UT tower shooter “The facts, both domestically and internationally, show that more strenuous gun laws lead directly to fewer deaths by guns.” Ignorant or a liar — choose one. John Lott, “More Guns, Less Crime”, is one of many sources for you to study. But even worse, those gun control laws almost always lead to far more overall violent crime (not just the narrow set called “gun deaths”). The UK… Read more »
Look at what just happened in Georgia, the cops threw a flash bang grenade that landed in a baby’s crib. Highly trained redneck sheriff SWAt teams make mistakes. Weapons can be missused by anyone.
The area of the country this takes place in makes no difference other than the fear that the average criminal in knowing that if you come in through the window in IV, you get to rape anyone you can overpower. In Texas, you get 150 grains of lead to the face from a girl with a .45
The real world is obviously a dangerous place, especially for women. #Islavista had riots, 3 brutal rapes by gangs of strangers and multiple apartment break-ins since January…all before this monster attacked our community. Men, break free of the #misogyny society perpetuates and make a stand for the women in your life. Defend their honor with ideals and action. If they aren’t already trained in self defense, teach them what you know and give them the power to protect themselves when you aren’t around. As an Iraq veteran, I train my #gaucho girlfriend to protect herself. She carries mace, a stun… Read more »
Granted I am assuming you taught her to use a handgun for personal defense as a rifle isn’t practical, I don’t think you need one. As far as personal defense goes, i would argue pepper spray and a taser would do the job quite well. Guns are the great equalizers in that weak or strong, a gun gives you the ability to end a life. The good thing is that you can defend yourself against the strong, the downside is they are on the exact same playing field as you, and you are playing potentially for your life. Why not… Read more »
Pepper spray and a tazer may not be effective, and is pretty useless against more than one assailant. Review some of the youtube videos of what really happens when a citizen uses a firearm against a criminal (or group of criminals). They run. Fast. Don’t take my word for it. I suggest you do some reading on this forum with posts by cops that use it regularly: http://forums.officer.com/t6001/ My own story is the time I sprayed it just to see how it works. A lot came back and hit me in the face. Why not get rid of all guns?… Read more »