You would be surprised at some of the people now packing heat.
When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.
Author unknown
When off duty, getting ready to leave the house is habit, like most people:
Wallet? Check.
Keys? Got them.
Phone? In my pocket.
Pistol? On my belt.
Handcuffs? In another pocket.
Like most cops I carry a weapon off duty, as well as cuffs. I’ve never needed to use them out of uniform, but guns are like blood or a parachute. If you need them, you need them badly.
Years ago there was a debate on PoliceOne.com, the subject was where do you always carry off duty. Most said they always had a firearm if not on them, nearby (i.e., glove compartment). Then one man posted something sobering, “I am always armed in church.” He explained, “That is the one place most people feel safe.”
Recently I’ve seen interesting articles on two very distinct groups who are carrying weapons more, homosexuals (plus) and Jews. But they both have reasons to be prepared.
Last month Slate had an editor review her experiences with a pistol. Her stats on “hate” crime against homosexuals are not exactly on target (pardon the pun). But I’ll assume her statements on increased gun ownerships by homosexuals are accurate. Ten years ago she purchased a pistol for a story and kept it afterwards.
To summarize, she put forth anecdotal reports of “record numbers of LGBTQ+ people obtaining firearms for protection.” She specifically blames Donald Trump’s election as a threat to gays and other political violence. From the article:
“some queer friends are learning to handle firearms, purchasing new weapons, or researching rifles for defense. Together, we talk through worst-case scenarios that would have seemed fantastical just months ago, imagining ourselves into a million futures that seem possible and unthinkable in equal measure…
…Some queer people have found their views on guns changing too. Unhappily, I’m one of them. My journey over the past 10 years is also the story of many other Americans facing a new reality. I shudder to think where it leads.
In a strange paradox, my lifelong aversion to guns is the very reason why I have one. Nearly a decade ago, an editor suggested a piece wherein a person who believed that all firearms should be melted down and turned into solar panels—i.e., me—would learn to use one, get licensed to carry it, and immerse herself in gun culture to try to understand it from a new perspective…
Sometime last spring, as the daily escalations of the Trump administration sent my mind spiraling, I realized that I’d stopped thinking of the gun stashed in my coffee table as a loathsome liability and started considering it a potential asset. A whole new set of disquieting possibilities felt as if they were opening up before me: mass civil unrest, white-nationalist militias welcomed by the president, a coordinated attack on D.C. If any of the worst came to pass, I thought, it could be useful to have this tool at my disposal…
I would suggest she look at some better statistics. From the Department of Justice, crimes against LBGTQ+ peaked in 2020 at 20% of total hate crimes, now 17.2% (2024). This lady, being an urbanite, has a much greater threat from black or Latin city gangs than “white-nationalist militias.” I don’t know the author, but she should remember Jussie Smollett was not attacked by MAGA members. Famous anti-gay shootings (Club Q 2022, Pulse 2016) were not committed by RNC supporters. If anything, “transgenders” are more likely to attack perceived soft targets (Nashville 2023, Lakewood Church Houston 2024).
I do appreciate she took classes on safe handling of firearms and how to fire them. I’ve seen too many geniuses I would not trust with a cap gun handing a Glock (many with badges).
The next group packing more are American Jews. For good reason, as anti-sematic attacks have risen over the years. A recent incident in Michigan is a prime example.
With years of planning and a ‘bit of luck,’ Michigan temple averted tragedy
As small-scale attacks target houses of worship, law enforcement and religious leaders are increasingly prepared.
DETROIT — When a Lebanese-born American, who was reportedly mourning relatives killed by an Israeli airstrike, plowed his truck into a Michigan synagogue Thursday and began driving “with purpose” up a hallway near classrooms with dozens of children, the temple’s private security team was ready.
The security guards engaged in a gunfight with the assailant, who had become stuck in his vehicle in the hallway and ultimately killed himself, authorities said at a news conference Friday evening. Responders had to navigate thick smoke that billowed from the vehicle, which had been stacked with fireworks and gasoline; more than 60 first responders eventually went to the hospital. A security guard broke a leg defending the building, and more than 100 children and staffers made it out safely, authorities said.
“Everything worked as it was supposed to work, but there is also a little bit of luck or God shining on us and watching over us,” said Rabbi Josh Bennett, one of several clergy members at Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield, the largest synagogue in the Detroit metro area, with more than 3,000 families. “I’m so appreciative that we are talking about gathering for worship tonight, not gathering for funerals today.”
Around the country, churches and other religious institutions, schools and public buildings raised their security protocols this week after a string of small-scale attacks across the United States, all of which appeared to have associations with the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war against Iran…
A fact of recent life, American houses of worship have become targets of various shooters. When people are worshiping God in which ever manner they choose (Christian service, Jewish Shabbat, or Muslim Jumu’ah), they relax. That is when predators want to strike. And that is the targets must be alert.
Again, police cannot be everywhere. If the targets of these criminals recognize their vulnerabilities, evaluate their security issues, plan for the threat, they can be ready to act if needed. That will save lives. Countless houses of worship are hiring off duty police for security during services. Gay clubs and bars are also using cops and civilian agents. It’s a fact that today we have people who will kill based on what you are. If they are more than verbally threatening, but taking action to attack, they cannot be reasoned with. But we can be prepared to act ourselves.
I don’t mean to encourage paranoia, but remember the Soviet KGB. Their official motto was “The Sword and the Shield.” They also had an unofficial motto, “Even paranoids have enemies.”
Michael A. Thiac is a retired Army intelligence officer, with over 23 years experience, including serving in the Republic of Korea, Japan, and the Middle East. He is also a retired police patrol sergeant, with over 22 years’ service, and over ten year’s experience in field training of newly assigned officers. He has been published at The American Thinker, PoliceOne.com, and on his personal blog, A Cop’s Watch.
Opinions expressed are his alone and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of current or former employers.
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