To the editor
As it seems I am the man at Spoons that has started a bit of a furor in the YOU SAID IT column lately, may I say a few words?
To the original poster who did not feel comfortable because I had no badge or anything. You obviously saw only the gun and not the totality of the situation. I was wearing a nice pair of khakis, golf shirt and a fine Resistol western style straw hat, which I removed upon entering unlike 99% of men today. I was with my wife and another couple. We had our breakfast outside and when we were done we not only cleared our own table but another table that had been left a mess by previous diners because we know Spoons is a nonprofit operated in support of Hospice, a fine and respected organization. How's that for an act of bullying poster #3?
Ask any police officer how many criminals they have encountered openly carrying a holstered handgun? Criminals conceal their weapons without any kind of holster so they can ditch their gun and play the "Gun? What gun? I ain't got no gun" game. It would be pretty had to play that game with a holster "strapped to my waist" along with the spare magazine holder on the other side. I embrace the Colorado Constitution which guarantees everyone the right to "keep and bear arms in defense of his home, person and property... but nothing herein contained shall be construed to justify the practice of carrying concealed weapons." (Article 2 section 13) The practice of carrying a concealed weapon was reserved to the card sharp, pimp, hustler and back alley thug. Honest men carried their pistols in the open with nothing to hide.
To the third poster who spoke of the training required to be competent with a handgun. Are you aware on average someone going through a police academy receives only between 60 and 90 hours of training and only qualifies 1-2 times a year? The Peace Officer Standards and Training Board of Colorado firearm training requirements allows for academy trainees to fail to qualify 3 times with remedial training between each attempt before being able to qualify on the fourth attempt. That badge is not a magic talisman imparting firearms expertise. Most of the open carriers I know will practice at least every other month and some far more than that because we enjoy shooting and will fire more rounds in a year than the average police officer will fire in five or ten years. To most police officers the gun is just one of many tools they have, and just like you will not see a carpenter practicing with his hammer on the weekends, most police officers do not practice on their own.
Personally, I was heavily involved in combat style pistol competitions and I fired 80-100,000 rounds per year for 15 years, that's more rounds a year than a dozen officers combined will fire in their careers. We had several police officers come out to a match, get humiliated and leave never to be seen again. A few realized the practice they got in a match was far superior to any official training they received and came back. Most became pretty good competitors after a while. Most serious competitors don't even consider the standard police qualification course of fire to be a warm up for serious practice.
Finally to the second poster who spoke of my being able to protect everyone if "someone went off their rocker." I am no police officer. I carry to protect myself, my wife and companions. Sure in such an event others no doubt would benefit from my self-protection, but running to protect others in an unknown situation is highly dangerous. Recently in Las Vegas a man and wife killed two police officers in a diner and then the killers proceeded across the street to the Walmart and the male fired a shot and ordered everyone out. A concealed carry permit holder drew his weapon and closed in on the shooter, only to be shot in the back by the shooter's wife, though the Main Stream Media continues to call him a "bystander".
When police respond to an active shooter they don't send one officer, they respond in force, wearing body armor and using tactics they practice where they provide mutual protection to each other. As a former Marine and Reserve Deputy Sheriff it would be hard not to "ride to the sound of the guns", but one must weigh the odds of one's actions and the consequences. As I said I carry for me and mine, IF I think I can safely help someone else I will. But every person has the guaranteed right to the means of self-defense and no right to depend on others to put their lives at risk to protect them. Right on #4.
Just like my sidearm, I put this letter in the open over my name for I have nothing to hide.
Robert X Xxxxxx