Monday, August 19, 2013

This house is proudly gun-free

The silliness, it seems, never ends.

A reader provided a link to an article about how Seattle leaders plan to launch a "gun free zone" program. Local business can invite armed robbery by putting decals in their windows declaring that guns are not permitted.


I say "invite armed robbery" because, let's face it, if you're blatantly advertising the fact that you have no effective means to stop theft, what do you think will happen?

To quote the article: “We’re making a statement as a community,” Washington CeaseFire Board President Ralph Fascitelli said in the press release. “We know this won’t stop someone determined to cause violence, but we hope that standing together and giving businesses a tool to say no to guns will change the conversation around gun violence.

So even Mr. Fascitelli admits that criminals pay no attention to laws. What he isn't willing to admit is putting these decals in store windows will instruct criminals on which businesses to target. Duh.

As I noted in an earlier WND column, "Progressives who think private gun ownership is unnecessary have no idea how much their safety is subsidized by their gun-owning neighbors. It’s always a risk when a bad guy decides to try a home invasion. In most cases, it’s not a home security system that stops a robbery; it’s the possibility that he could be met by a blaze of buckshot. It’s that element of uncertainty – does this homeowner have a gun or not? – that keeps you safe in your bed at night."

The same philosophy applies to retail businesses. Law enforcement officers, no matter how dedicated, cannot stop crime. Only personal defense can. When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.

So would proponents of this gun-free program be willing to post such decals in their own personal home windows? Apparently not. In this article, a group called Project Veritas posed as members of a gun-control group asking journalists with the paper that published the names and addresses of gun-permit holders in the New York City area if they'd be willing to put signs on their front lawns that say, "Citizens Against Senseless Violence. THIS HOME IS PROUDLY GUN FREE!"

They were uniformly turned down. To quote the article: Four times doors were closed in the faces of the Project Veritas investigators, three times the signs were rejected, twice law enforcement was called to remove them from the property and three times they found armed guards already on site.

(Armed guards already on site?)

"It’s amazing to see members of our media equivocate and contradict their spoken and written words when faced with the dilemma to declare their own homes as gun free," said Project Veritas founder O’Keefe. "Surprisingly, we found that the homes of the very New York paper that was willing to put the lives and fortunes of gun owners at risk by publishing their names and addresses, were also the most heavily armed and protected. The hypocrisy of New York’s Journal News is beyond words."


So I would love to ask these Seattle leaders whether they'd be willing to put their money where their mouth is; to wit, post "This house is proudly gun-free" on their lawns.

My guess is the answer would be NO. Even in Seattle.

23 comments:

  1. Saw a great sign in a business: "My neighbor (arrow pointing to the right)is against gun ownership. His home is gun-free. In order to show respect for his convictions, I will not be using my guns to protect his home."

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  2. When I saw the title of this post, I thought you may have lost your mind. Glad I read it through! It's lovely to be idealistic, but it can get you hurt or worse, this being a case in point.

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  3. I think signs that say "This house is proudly armed to the teeth, try to rob us, I dare you... You will be SHOT" would be better!

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  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  5. It would be funny to see someone post a sign "Guns REQUIRED to enter". I know of gun stores who require all of their employees to have a permit and carry on the job.

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  6. Where I live, businesses can post no weapons allowed signs - I don't buy from those businesses if I have another option.

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  7. I used to get wierd looks from snowbirds occasionally in Arizona when I had been hiking in the boonies and brought my holstered firearm into a place of business. I wondered if I had a wierd sunburn, or a smudge on my nose, or an embarrassing rip in my clothing. It wasn't until later that I realized what was "wrong".

    Real Arizonans didn't notice. Hiking unarmed in the desert is just stupid.

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  8. Like Grandma used to say, 'You can't fix stupid'.
    Montana Guy

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  9. I was the one that posted a link to the article for you. I found the whole concept of these signs quite stupid, but then realized it was Seattle and then it didn't surprise me. I've actually seen similar signs posted in Boise and other somewhat larger towns in southern Idaho as well, and in all instances those businesses tended to be newer with owners that were not originally from the state, most run by transplant Californians that seem opposed to all guns. I live in the country where everyone owns guns not just for home protection but also for hunting, predator control, etc. A house down the road from me is a rental farm house and we always seem to end up with out-of-staters renting it for a few months at a time before they find a permanent place to live and it always amazes me how fearful they are of guns. On several occasions the current occupants have called the cops on neighbors because they heard suspicious gunshots, all of which have been people shooting problem coyotes that were killing livestock or shooting birds during the actual hunting season, or sometimes just people out shooting in general. These same neighbors also are often outside screaming about how loud farm machinery is, how annoying the cows in adjacent pastures are, etc. So really if a thief wants to rob anyone in my region of the country, they just need to find houses with cars that still have certain states license plates and they would have a hayday. My husband used to teach at a high school in a larger neighboring town and his classes often had the problem students in them, ones with a past criminal record and often would overhear them talking about past exploits and how they would target certain people and homes in town because they knew the owners didn't have guns. I do think the concept of having signs in windows is stupid though, it tells people to come rob them. But I guess in extreme liberal areas they assume people will read the signs and obey them.

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  10. Lots of good common sense in these comments! Sadly, Americans who listen to liberal lies have NO common sense. Liberal progressives are expert at making a lie sound truthful. Because of this they have managed to fool and mislead a whole lot of people. These silly and even dangerous signs are a perfect example. An e-mail that covered this subject was making the rounds a few years back. I have no idea if any of those boobs who stuck the signs on their homes and businesses were ever robbed. If they were, we would never know it because our lamestream media would NOT report it! --Fred in AZ

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  11. There is no common sense any more. Seattle proves that.

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  12. Standing by with Rob to que crime wave on one...

    meanwhile, off mic someone asks:
    [...hey..don't they know what happened in Australia???]


    A. McSp

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  13. If one or two teachers in Sandy Hook had been armed with loaded guns on their person, we would not be left with 20 adorable children dead. Long live the NRA and long live our constitutional right to bear arms. Today's society is so mixed up it is frightening and the liberals in Washington, D.C. and in pockets around our country should be booted out of office.

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  14. I work in Seattle and live north of the city. These signs will be a convenient way of knowing which businesses I will no longer patronize.

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  15. I am aware that the law does allow businesses and property owners to restrict the concealed and open carry of guns on their property. I see absolutely no difference between this and allowing them to restrict access because of race, gender, etc. Arguably individuals and individual business owners have a right to decide who they serve and who may enter their property but some years back the government decided (probably without the constitutional right to) that it was illegal to discriminate based on Race, religion, country of origin, etc. Not because of any right as guaranteed by the constitution but based on nothing more then majority consent to this usurpation of the constitution. But in the case of concealed or open carry of arms there is a constitutional right explicitly given to all of us and it is hard to justify the ban (or gun free zones).

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  16. Even here in gun-friendly Utah, they now posts those decals in Toys R Us. New company policy since Sandy Hook it would seem. I went in on a slow day with my kids to pick up a craft and at check-out I asked the manager if she would like some feedback. She reluctantly said yes, so I explained that I no longer feel safe coming into a store that posts a gun-free decal in the front window. She told me that was to keep guns out of the store (as if I was too mentally challenged to understand the purpose of the decal). I patiently explained how a psychopath with a grudge would see that decal as an invitation to murder as many innocents as possible in one place...as had already been proven...and she grudgingly accepted that I may have a point.
    The decal is still there months later...and I go elsewhere for crafts and toys.
    I'd be curious to know if the bottom line on these businesses with gun-free decals has tanked.
    J. in Utah

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  17. I prefer the sign; No trespassing, violators will be mauled, remains will be shot.

    People of Seattle, Washington you have a choice; will you be the person filling out the police statement or the person getting a chalk outline drawn around their body?

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  18. The best part of the article is this quote from a business owner who supports the signs :

    “It sends a message that it’s not cool to just walk around with a gun all the time because bad things happen,” he said. “It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it’s really, really bad.”

    I can just see him confronting some angry psycho :
    Not.
    Cool.
    Man.


    - Charlie

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  19. Our neighbor two doors down actually has a gun-free (red circle with a line through it) decal in their front window! They're sweet people, but I wouldn't waste my breath trying to convince them of the error of their ways. I just stay off their property! What I love to see are the 'concealed firearms welcome here' signs on a business' door.

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  20. This is an old post, but I just had to weigh in anyway.

    My husband and I were out and about running errands when he decided he'd like to go to the mall and check out the sleep number bed store. As we entered the mall (a Simon Mall), we were confronted by a large sign enumerating a list of rules, one of which essentially said, "we don't care if you have a permit, you may not go armed in here," so we turned around and walked out, wondering out loud how many sales are lost to the tenant stores of that mall because of their ridiculous policy.

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