To some local residents' dismay, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown doesn't believe the public is made safer by permitting more people to carry loaded and concealed weapons.Right. As I've demonstrated time and again, we're just not as stable and trustworthy as Brown and his "Only Ones."
And he cites a 2005 handgun murder that climaxed a road-rage incident in Buellton as evidence of why he feels that way...
“I don't subscribe to the theory that it's safer in public if you have large numbers of armed people running around,” Brown added during an interview at his Sheriff's Department office near Goleta.
Nice to see the "authorized journalists" are finally getting around to noticing something we mere bloggers have been covering for over half a year now. Still, it's funny how the primary issue that makes this story unique--NRA's "A" rating and endorsement of an anti-gun sheriff who doesn't believe armed citizens make society safer-- apparently isn't considered "newsworthy."
There's also an important clarification to make about Larry Rankin, who the reporter does mention. Per Larry:
Just for your information, they said, I "could not be reached for further comment," they did not try to contact me or I would have given them some good feedback about Sheriff Brown and my reasons.I'm working on a follow-up right now--it will feature statements from Santa Barbara gun owners and NRA members who have contacted NRA on this matter and been blown off. Their silence on this and refusal to explain themselves and condemn Brown's stance is simply unacceptable. But count on the stonewalling to continue because only myself and a handful of others give a damn enough to demand answers. Which means the ratings charade will continue.