In 2001 Michigan passed a shall issue concealed carry law. Detroit’s city government was initially hostile to the idea. But as the city’s decline accelerated, by 2010, five city council members had permits. After Detroit declared bankruptcy in the summer of 2013, emergency manager Kevin Orr appointed Chief James Craig the city’s top cop. Unlike most large city police chiefs, Craig wasn’t beholden to the Mayor and City Council. Chief Craig has been at the forefront of supporting armed citizens as a way to drive down crime; armed resistance to crime has been on the rise. For example . . .
In the recent case, a black woman, referred to as only as C.C., kept a handgun in the side pocket of her car while driving. From clickondetroit.com:
She keeps her gun — .357 caliber Sig Sauer G2 — in the side door of her vehicle. She has a concealed carry permit. It’s her weapon of choice which she has trained with at area ranges. It holds 13 hollow point rounds.
Large areas of Detroit are becoming semi-rural because of the loss in population. C.C. made a wrong turn, and was making a U-turn in this area when she was attacked.
C.C. fired all 13 rounds of hollowpoint .357 Sig at her attackers. Her attackers fired back. Police did not find any evidence that anyone was hit. C.C. only escaped injury because her car stopped a couple of bullets. From the impact damage, I would guess that the carjacking suspects were using a short barreled .22 pistol. On the other hand, those impact points may be reinforced by the door frame.
Here is a blown up image of the bullet damage. At least one bullet seems to have made it inside the vehicle, though the picture does not make it clear where it hit. That impact, shown on the right, may have been from a bullet fragment.
C.C. might have had a difficult time shooting out of her car door or window if she is left handed. The screen shot below indicates that she may be. Left handed shooters are at a bit of a disadvantage shooting from the driver’s seat in the United States.
Speaking to the press, C.C. revealed an attitude that many in the gun culture associate with the Gadsden flag.
C.C. is particularly offended at the notion Detroiters can’t safely buy gasoline at night. Police Chief James Craig, who has applauded citizens for protecting themselves with legal firearms, called getting gas at night a bad idea.
“You should be able to go anytime to get gas. This is the land of the free and the home of the brave, right? Why can’t we act like it?” said C.C.
Under Chief Craig, her firearm is not expected to be held as evidence for months or years on end, a common occurrence in other areas. She expects it back in two days. The shooting occurred on Tuesday, and she expects if back on Thursday. In any case, she is prepared. She has a backup pistol, a small 10-shot 9mm designed for concealed carry.
The SCCY CPX-2 9mm is C.C.’s backup gun. Maybe it was a first gun; it is not uncommon for shooters to upgrade and keep the older firearm for a spare.
John “More Guns Less Crime” Lott says that armed minority women are effective at reducing crime:
Lott: Murder rates decline when either more women or more men carry concealed handguns, but a gun represents a much larger change in a woman’s ability to defend herself than it does for a man. An additional woman carrying a concealed handgun reduces the murder rate for women by about 3 to 4 times more than an additional man carrying a concealed handgun reduces the murder rate for men.
Question: Aren’t you playing into people’s fears and prejudices though? Don’t politicians pass these shall-issue laws to mollify middle-class white suburbanites anxious about the encroachment of urban minority crime?
Lott: I won’t speculate about motives, but the results tell a different story. High crime urban areas and neighborhoods with large minority populations have the greatest reductions in violent crime when citizens are legally allowed to carry concealed handguns.
As more minorities in high crime urban areas realize that they are legally protected by the Second Amendment, and can defend themselves without being persecuted in the courts, faith in the police, courts, and justice system will rise, and crime rates will fall. All eyes on Detroit.
©2015 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
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