Terms like homophobia have come to be the accepted nomenclature to describe anyone that opposes a political agenda that is advocated by the mavens of our American media-political complex. Control of the language ensures cultural dominance. For example, opposing government entitlement programs translates into hate for minorities. And many Americans are now convinced that actually enforcing immigration laws indicates fear of people that don’t speak English.

According to my sources, the Yiddish term “maven” became common in political parlance during the 1980s when William Safire, the Conservative mantelpiece at the New York Times, began describing himself as “the language maven“. A maven is someone who has a disproportionate influence on other members of his or her network.

The role of mavens and psycholinguistics in propagating opinion has been well-documented. It may someday become common to read stories in magazines and newspapers about hoplophobia; i.e., morbid fear of guns! The Bellevue-based Second Amendment Foundation has now moved for a preliminary injunction against the State of Illinois to prevent the state from prohibiting citizens from carrying guns - something allowed in every other state.

Rahm Emanuel wants to avoid adverse court rulings on two pending federal lawsuits challenging Chicago’s ban on gun ranges. The City of Chicago is reluctantly taking steps to perpetuate its systematic hoplophobia by finally allowing gun ranges within its City limits. This seems like a move in the direction but the proposed zoning regulations would contain such severe restrictions that the legal expense alone will discourage most business people from even trying to construct a gun range!

Ranges in Chicago would be confined to areas zoned for manufacturing- but that’s only the beginning. Gun ranges would be prohibited within 1,000 feet of a school, park, place of worship, day care center, liquor store, library, museum, hospital or residential district!

That doesn’t leave too many viable locations. But the Mayor and Chicago’s aldermen are also busy trying to figure out how to make sure that, if any would-be range operators ever do obtain the required special use permits- after a prolonged and difficult public hearing process- no one could leave the range with ammunition purchased there. Did I mention that Illinois is now the only state where carrying of firearms by private citizens is completely prohibited!

Lawyers and historians are very familiar with all the unintended consequences that result from any policy choice. But there may come a time that the citizens of Chicago will look back to when violent crime was rampant in their city’s streets and wonder how they ever submitted to the tyranny of hoplophobic politicians like Rahm Emanuel. Parents all over the U.S. may even tell their children how toy guns could lead to dreadful retribution exacted by school officials under the control of a mental abnormality that once swept over our American ruling class.

Illinois also has a huge spending problem, four modern governors convicted of corruption and a river of blood in its streets. The Second Amendment was written by men that had read about similar times and they called hoplophobia something else- a recipe for tyranny!

Republished from Federal Way Mirror

Federal Way residents are encouraged to get Community Emergency Response Training, also known as CERT.

When I attended a few years back, I was surprised to learn that South King Fire and Rescue has a policy of not responding to emergencies where there is an imminent threat of violence. That makes sense because most firefighters and EMTs are not trained to deal with violence.

The good sense behind the policy notwithstanding, you won’t feel better if your home or business burns to the ground during a violent civil disturbance while the firefighters watch from a distance.

The Seattle Fire Department was previously involved in Counter Narcotics Terrorist Operations and Medical Support (CONTOMS), a program funded by the Department of Defense:

The CONTOMS Program is unique in that it provides the student with actual certification as an Emergency Medical Technician -Tactical (EMT-T). The program provides a comprehensive approach to emergency care and operational medical support in the tactical environment. It is focused on the broad range of knowledge and skills required for crisis management medical response including: care under fire; Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD); medical counterterrorism; counternarcotics; protective operations; hostage rescue; explosive ordnance disposal; maritime operations; civil disorder; and major national security events.

The program trained paramedics and EMTs assigned to SWAT teams. The Seattle Fire Department discontinued its program because the medical personnel from the department did not carry weapons but it is unclear to this author at this time why the Department initiated the program if training armed firefighters was not contemplated. I was under the impression that some firefighters and EMTs in Seattle were actually armed when we initially began this inquiry and will appreciate any additional history regarding the program that might be available.

The fact that a firefighter or EMT in Seattle and South King County does not carry a gun raises the question of whether it would be prudent to have armed personnel responding to certain emergencies. The culture of law enforcement is different from that of EMTs and firefighters. But we see cultures being transformed all around us. We could have tactical firefighters and EMTs that are trained to go into domestic battle zones.

We live in a time when budgets are strained beyond belief. New programs are out of the question. From talking to local firefighters, many of them carried guns when dispatched to the Los Angeles riots in 1992. The firefighters and EMTs could not carry legally, but they carried concealed firearms nevertheless.

Why were local firefighters sent into a violent conflict in Southern California when they have a policy in force that might prevent a response right here in King County?

Some of the questions we should be raising are related to insurance policies and liability. Analyzing almost any modern policy question usually entails the all-important question of how much the insurance premiums cost. Lawyers are graded in law school based on how many liabilities we can find hidden within any set of hypothetical facts. Insurance actuaries must account for what a jury might be likely to decide if a municipality or other entity is sued.

In a recent Redmond Reporter article, Steve Strachan, chief deputy of the King County Sheriff’s Office, stated that in 25 years he has never seen law enforcement having as many “open, substantive and robust discussions about our training, our policies and our expectations.”

We should not be in denial when it comes to the potential for violence. Law enforcement is presently trained with much more intense and innovative tactical methods than ever before. Armed citizens need to discuss new methods for protecting our schools, homes, churches and work. Let’s also find ways to equip firefighters and EMTs for emergencies where the potential for violence is present.