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Stay classy

BY David Boze  on December 16, 2012 @ 9:15 pm (Updated: 7:45 am - 12/17/12 )

I received this listener comment regarding my coverage of the massacre in CT.

Subject: Stay classy

So within minutes of a deadly school shooting, where innocent children and adults were blown away by someone with guns, where all the facts aren't known, where the phrases "body count" and "massacre" are being used, where the bodies aren't even cold yet, you have someone on the the radio (boze) talking about the need to arm teachers and maybe use the tactics that are used in Israel? Seriously? That's the new standard? I tuned in to get the news and listen to Dave Ross and i have to listen to some heartless and ignorant rhetoric about the solution to gun violence is more guns (By the way, is the NRA a new sponsor of yours? Oh yeah. I forgot. We are aiming to be the western version Israel). Ask the parents of the children who were just slaughtered what they think of putting more guns in the hands of anyone who is not law enforcement or military. Well done. Like I said, stay classy

My response:

I received your comments below and wanted to clarify some things. Admittedly, the information we had at the time was very limited and constantly changing. I hope we made that clear, but sometimes it's hard to do that when so much is happening and so much reported is changed later. However, I was asked specifically about what may prevent atrocities of this kind and about gun control. I expressed doubt that any realistic gun control laws would have stopped a guy like this in part because it sounded like the weapons he had were very common and basic. I suggested the possibility of arming trained staff at schools because I'd read that other places (Israel, Thailand) dealing with threats to children did so and reduced the threat. I didn't say it was THE solution, but only something we should consider. Dave Ross reacted much the way you did, saying his "mind couldn't even go there" but it seems to me that when you're asking people to be open to the possibility that some gun restrictions may help prevent massacres of this kind, you should also be open to the possibility that there may be other, possibly even more effective solutions.

My rhetoric was not intended to be heartless I hope it was not ignorant. Frankly, I found it difficult to talk at all with the thoughts of dead children and parents rushing to a school to find their lives ruined rushing through my head. I thought of my own nieces and nephews and how helpless these kids were. But I was asked a question and gave the best answer I could. Guns in the hands of non-law enforcement have saved many people and prevented many crimes ( for example, and the former policewoman who served as a volunteer armed security guard at her church in Colorado Springs) . Obviously, schools have unique challenges, but I specifically cited training and looking at the possibility--I did not say exactly how such a policy might be implemented (I'd expect different schools to have different policies).

While we may start from different perspectives on what should be done, we all mourn the loss of these children and would never like to see news of such a massacre again.

Sincerely,

David Boze

UPDATE: I received a very thoughtful email response to my reply. I'll post it soon...

David Boze, KTTH Talk Show Host
David hosts a radio show on Seattle's only conservative talk station, KTTH. He enjoys hunting big game and attending the Seattle Symphony.
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Comments (17)


  • Add A Comment

  • FormerMarineSgt wrote...
    Boze - Your idea is lacking one MAJOR item.
    December 16, 2012 10:14 pm
    Merely arming people isn't the answer. IF it were, we'd see lots of people playing hero and stepping in with thier guns and 'saving the day'. I am afraid that these sorts of ideas will end up with more of the tacoma mall jeweler who packed - and tried to play hero at that shooting a couple years ago - and instead ended up paralyized and never got a shot off. Or worse yet, injure innocents while flailing around trying to shoot the 'bad guy' - or like the pharmacist back east who was being robbed - shot one of them (wounding him so badly that he went down and wasn't capable of getting up or being a threat any longer), ran outside shooting at the other perps, then came back inside, got ANOTHER pistol and at close range 'applied the finishing shots to kill the incapacitated robber who was no longer a threat at all. (yes that one was recorded by the security system). A gun in the hands of an improperly trained individual is as dangerous as the 'bad guys' we are trying to protect ourselves from. While I applaud your openness to discuss this as an idea to look into (rather than using it as a piece of right wing pro gun rhetoric like some people do), without this being factored in, we are creating a far more dangerous situation rather than creating better security. The only way a system like this would work is if whomever was allowed to carry in these locations (teachers at schools for example), they must be VERY well trained and not recieve 'a couple of hours of training' and then call it good.
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  • FormerMarineSgt wrote...
    Boze - Your idea is lacking one MAJOR item. - part 2
    December 17, 2012 5:15 am
    Rereading my comment I failed to provide the clarity I wanted on my first sentence in my previous comment. The sentence: "Merely arming people isn't the answer. IF it were, we'd see lots of people playing hero and stepping in with thier guns and 'saving the day'" Should have read: "Merely arming people isn't the answer. IF it were, we would already be seeing lots of people playing hero and stepping in with thier guns and 'saving the day', but we do not.
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  • SeattleD wrote...
    The murderers mother was a big time gun nut
    December 17, 2012 6:47 am
    The murderers mother was fully armed, fully trained,and still took the first bullet.
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  • Paul Kersey wrote...
    an armed citizen stopped the shooting in Portland
    December 17, 2012 7:36 am
    The coward in the Portland mall shot himself after he was confronted by an armed citizen.

    http://www.kgw.com/news/Clackamas-man-armed-confronts-mall-shooter-183593571.html

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  • FormerMarineSgt wrote...
    @Paul
    December 17, 2012 8:56 am
    After reading the story in the link, making the assumption that this armed citizen stopped it is quite an over-reach. The guy 'who pulled his gun but never used it' sure seems to be tooting his own horn a bit too far as well... He comes across as if he's claiming that simply because he saw this young adult with a gun, he stopped shooting others and then killed himself. I find that hard to beleive. What was the shooter afraid of? That the 'almost hero' was going to shoot him, so he shot himself first? That conclusion makes no sense. What makes more sense as a more likely outcome in a scenario like that is what happened in the Tacoma mall shooting that happened a few years ago - a store owner did the same thing, except tried to take a shot and instead of becoming the hero, he's now paralyzed because the shooter got him first. The store owner wasn't successful likely because he wasn't trained in how to handle a situation like that.
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  • Drool wrote...
    Read it Again Paul
    December 17, 2012 9:18 am
    There is no evidence he stopped it. The perp shot himself but there is nothing but speculation as to why he timed it then. He also just had managed to clear his weapon. Maybe he thought he was only going to get one more shot from it so he decided it was to be his.
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  • roomtemp wrote...
    This is a good time for a debate about...
    December 17, 2012 2:04 pm
    Homeschooling!

    As criminals obviously won't pay attention to any gun control laws anyway, the obvious answer is to limit the damage they can do at once. (And give them the possibility of having to face an armed momma bear with an attitude.) I haven't heard that debate raised anywhere. But it's a better answer than banning weapons if your real reason is to protect children.

    Yeah, it's an incredibly inhumane tragedy. Yeah, the guy snapped. It's been happening since the beginning of time. Laws won't change that. Criminals will get guns if they want them. You won't stop the black market, ever. A gun is not that sophisticated of a device. I could make one if I was inclined. Maybe you'd like to outlaw my lathe and mill too?

    Getting really tired of the knee jerk reaction to limit the rights of honest citizens because of the least common denominators of humanity. Where does that end? Lots of people are killed in cars every year. We should all be forced to take public transportation everywhere? People choke on ham fat, ban pork! There are very few shooting deaths in prisons. Maybe we should turn our country into a giant prison! Yeah, that's the ticket.

    Looks like another couple weeks without MSM for me. (Not that it's much of a loss.) 24/7 media vultures and their wall to wall coverage are incredibly annoying. They're not informing anybody, they are using a tragedy to sell dish soap and bondage.

    No, it's not a good time for a debate. People rarely think rationally during times of emotional distress.

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