Detroit politician sees the light on guns

[hack89]

Former mayoral candidate Lisa Howze is recovering from an apparent break-in while she was inside her home on a day she made a controversial political decision.

The first patrol car arrived in about 20 minutes, she said. And then another showed up and, finally, an investigative team.

Another piece of advice Howze had been reluctant to hear in the past: Get a concealed pistol license.

“The officer told me it’s time to get my CPL license,” Howze said. “I had resisted for a long time, saying, no, I’m not getting a gun, I’m not getting a gun. Now I’m not resisting.”

From The Detroit News: http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130821/METRO01/308210098#ixzz2ciWugNx0

[geckosfeet]

1. Duh. Live in a high crime area? The police are only minutes away when seconds count.

[sarisataka]

6. 20 minutes if you are a priority

Howze called police, telling a dispatcher she was a former mayoral candidate who had just completed a news conference.

“I thought that if I explained who I was that it might illustrate the state of mind I was in,” Howze said. “I was hoping for a faster response time.”

[geckosfeet]

8. "State of mind" - I am special cause I am a former mayoral candidate - not one of the unwashed

The peasants wait days.

But they can''t be armed because,,,, well they are peasants. They can't be trusted like former mayoral candidates.

[rrneck]

2. When shit gets real, people get real shit. nt

[ileus]

3. She shouldn't need a license for inside her home...

of course city laws may be different I suppose.

[mwrguy]

4. Adding more guns to the mix will certainly end the violence

Brilliant

[gejohnston]

5. you are missing the point

it isn't the number of guns, it is who has them. Nothing will end violence, predatory thugs always will be able to get guns or any other weapon. They don't buy guns legally to begin with. Or, are you saying that defending yourself is immoral?

[sarisataka]

7. Stern language?

That might do the trick

Then she called neighbors. One told her that her back door was wide open and there had been five, maybe six people inside her home.

They didn't need guns, the intruders had all they needed to commit any violence they wanted

[branford]

10. Maybe not, but she will have a fighting chance in the event of another encounter.

[GreenStormCloud]

11. Sometimes you have to meet violence with greater violence.

There is a reason why coyotes eat sheep and not longhorn cows.

[krispos42]

9. For some people...

...owing a gun (or not owning a gun) is a political statement. She was apparently one of those people.

[Nuclear Unicorn]

12. She's lucky to be alive to make a new statement.

[NYC_SKP]

13. Recommended.

A lesson learned the hard way, but learned.

I wish more people would pay attention, I don't want them to have to learn this way.

[Starboard Tack]

14. Classic kneejerk reaction

The woman obviously lives in a dream world and the cop is an idiot. I have no issue with thinking humans owning firearms to protect their homes, but this person seems a very poor candidate for gun ownership, let alone mayor. She might consider securing her home before buying a gun, and the thought of her carrying one concealed is a lot scarier than having a bunch of guys walking in and taking $53. I'm sure she'd sleep better after shooting them all, rather than forking out $20 for a deadbolt.
Oh, and a CPL officer? Really?

[gejohnston]

15. are you certain she didn't already have a dead bolt?

They might be harder to defeat, but not impossible. What if it was about more than a couple of bucks? The next time might be. What do you base this opinion on? Trusting her neighbors? Assuming that running for mayor will get you preferential treatment by the cops? I call that either realistic or cynical. (Then again, it was still Eight Mile. If she lived in Palmer Woods, or Grosse Point would get a faster response.)

[Starboard Tack]

16. The dead bolt was not meant literally

My point is that more attention to home security might might serve her better than carrying a gun around, which would accomplish nothing. Even having a gun in her home would probably have meant either it would have disappeared with the $53 or someone, possibly her, would have been shot.
Police response times have little or no relevance.
How would a carry permit have helped in defending her home? Maybe getting off the phone with her gf and making the 911 call herself might have helped. Imagine the conversation. "Yes, I'd like to report an emergency, officer. I'm here chatting with my girlfriend and she asked me to call you to say she heard a noise downstairs." "OK, we'll get right on that ma'am!"

[gejohnston]

17. might, if she owned the home

Even having a gun in her home would probably have meant either it would have disappeared with the $53 or someone, possibly her, would have been shot.

Based on junk science by Kellermann which has been debunked by criminologists. That is why I'm against MDs pretending to be social scientists with tax money. Sorry, that's ideology and not based on any empirical evidence.

Police response times have little or no relevance.

during a home invasion or armed robbery, it is very relevant. Detroit's average is one hour.

How would a carry permit have helped in defending her home? Maybe getting off the phone with her gf and making the 911 call herself might have helped. Imagine the conversation. "Yes, I'd like to report an emergency, officer. I'm here chatting with my girlfriend and she asked me to call you to say she heard a noise downstairs." "OK, we'll get right on that ma'am!"

the gun would be safely with her instead of disappearing with the air conditioner.

The cop said basically what the courts, and NYC mayor Dinkins during the Crown Point riots, have been saying for decades: The police are not there to protect you, and they have no obligation to.

[Taitertots]

18. There is a saying: Locked doors only stop honest people

A Deadbolt is going to do nothing to stop 5-6 people from breaking into your house. She probably already had one.