Friends,
First, I want to thank all of you who gave such thoughtful responses. I read them all. I would have responded in the other thread but someone closed it off. I work all day and writing here berofre evening isn't an option.
First, as I said in the original post, I was repeating the input of others. I was leaning to what I had heard, but now remember the Bible Proverb, "The first to speak seems right, until another comes forward and questions him"
Many of your posts and the points made were very valid and much appreciated. From what you have all said, I am fully persuaded that shouting PO-LICE is a bad idea, if for no other reason than the one post which pointed out that the chances of being shot by another good guy do seem to be extremely low. More on that in a moment. Working on base as I do, we are not allowed to carry and I don't break the rules. I have done the math and I am far more likely to get busted and loose my career than to be shot by a bad guy on base. So odds to matter and they should effect our decisions.
With that said, on base we do Active Shooter exercises on a regular bases, because they have happened and the threat exists. But the threat is very low. So it seems that while in general a CCW badge is a bad idea because of the possible down sides and the odds, there may be applications for it that do not involve an underdeveloped ego and that might be helpful. I don't know, I am going to have to give this more thought and look at the laws of the state I am living in at the time. I know when I retire in Alabama (Amen), everyone there is a good guy so it won't be an issue...
As a chaplain I have ministered to a number of my patients who have suffered gunshot wounds, some have died as a result of their wounds and as I said before, some shot by mistake by our own guys. With mass shootings here in the states etc, it just seems that many of the posts here are true as far as they go, and surely play the odds, but may also be one dimensional in not taking a broader view of the potentialities. As I listen to the wounded share their stories with me as the chaplain, these stories very often including the recounting of much yelling that takes place during the battle. One story recounted was about a US military police training team who got in a gun fight in low light conditions on the street with the Iraqi police they were training because they could not see clearly and neglected to yell prior to shooting. It might surprise many of you, but prior to deployment, we all (including the chaplains who don't carry guns but still have the right to self defense) receive training on what to do to avert a threat, things like yelling commands, and shooting the "vital tee" etc.
I ask these questions about the badge because I first read the other threads on this and found 0remarkably little thought that went into them). Your responses, most of them anyway are much more thougth provoking.
In closing, I am considering the shooting in Arizona with the Congresswoman. What if an armed CCW holder responded? What if three were on the scene. When I have been shot at I found myself immediately disoriented. The yelling the pointing, all help to make sense of the situation. We had uniforms, what do civilian good guys have? So if there were two good guys on a scene of evil, would it be the right thing to do to run when we could stop a slaughter just because we could get away safely ourselves? Sounds like a chaplain question doesn't it? Unlikely, I suppose, but what if? I don't have all the answers and I am not an authority, but I am seeking an education. You all have been helpful and I want to thank you again for responding.
