In response to editorial on guns in courthouses
Almost seven years ago the Legislature decided to allow Mississippi gun permit holders to carry firearms in numerous places from which they were previously banned. That resulted in many new places permit holders with training could go. One place was specifically called out (courthouses) but it still precluded carrying inside courtrooms.
While the ink was still wet on the Governor’s signature of the bill, First Judicial District judges had their egos hurt and showed little respect for the Legislature. They ordained the entire courthouse their courtroom using the Legislature’s language against them. The entire courthouse was indeed their courtrooms (only because they said so). But spreading like wildfire, judges all over the state reciprocated.
Fifteen attacks by gunfire at courthouses around the country in 12 years do not justify the “doomsday” mindset judges have. Records I provided to the Lowndes Supervisors showed that 44 Mississippi policemen of 10,114 had been arrested for felonies in the preceding eight months, losing authority to carry firearms. Mississippi Highway Patrol records revealed no permit holders of more than 80K had lost their permits due to the commission of ANY crime in four years. Using logic, and an open mind, a reasonable person could conclude that permit holders are of NO threat.
Wilhelm Reich once said in part, “The ego might resist change until a person’s level of discomfort becomes unbearable. A person can employ logic to overcome the ego’s defense mechanism and intentionally integrate needed revisions in a person’s obsolete or ineffective beliefs and behavior patterns.”
Rick Ward
Collins
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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