(audio only):
Transcript (emphasis mine):
"You know we're all honored and privileged to serve this city and its citizens and there has been a recent attention drawn to one of our police officers regarding this carrying a concealed weapon. Been through many out-of-town emails. I have been as a lawyer on both sides of police issues. I've represented true victims of police abuse, and I've defended police officers against unwarranted charges, uh, challenging their behavior.
"I don't intend to make any comments tonight about this particular incident or this particular police officer, or the person that was stopped, but I did want to make a comment reflecting the out-of-town emails we have all received from people who do not live in this community, do not know our police, do not know the firefighters, do not know our public servants, our employees, know nothing about the city of Canton.
"But because a video went viral on the internet they're excoriating the city of Canton out of this particular incident. And, they're excoriating our police force, its conduct, and our city. I take very strong exception to what I've read, what I've heard from out-of-towners making comments about our city.
"This is in my judgment, a symptom of this arming -- literally -- the arming of our population with handguns, and the flooding of handguns into our communities. Um, these laws that allow our citizens to carry a concealed weapon at a university, in a school, in a bar where liquor is served, in automobiles, in the worst part of our neighborhoods, where there's high crime, drugs, prostitution, and somebody is packing a Ruger at 1:30 in the morning.
"That's not acceptable in our society, and I told one caller who called me from Phoenix, Arizona, yesterday, who complained about our police and this particular incident. I said to him, 'You wanna know something my friend? You can blame our city, but you're next, because as long as these laws permit people to carry weapons under the worst of circumstances, and in the worst situations, there are deaths waiting to happen, either police officers or citizens who think by arming themselves they're somehow safe.'
"So, my only remarks tonight are designed to those out-of-town people who are complaining about our police department and our city. Believe me if you allow the kind of carry concealed weapons laws that are in existence in Ohio, and they're all over the United States, you're gonna have the same problems over and over again and deaths will result.
Finally, just for those people who are going to say that I am against guns, I am not against weapons, I am not against handguns, I am not against people that hunt with weapons, but we all should believe in common sense, reasonable gun control laws that don't allow this kind of thing to happen at 1:30 in the morning in a crime-ridden neighborhood with prostitution and drugs when we sit every week and listen to our citizens step forward saying 'We want to be protected.'
"Well, we are being protected, and I know the police department, and the safety director and the mayor will, will investigate this thoroughly and that's one of the benefits of having a video that allows our citizens some transparency as to what happens in these stops, but these laws are completely insane."
So, what this guy is saying, although I am sure that he will disagree with the summation, is that as long as places allow concealed carry laws (I was going to say "under only the most restrictive circumstances," but come on, there's no doubt this guy is opposed to concealed carry across-the-board), then you're going to have "the same problems over and over again, and deaths will result." Since the "problem" in this case was an abusive, out-of-control police officer, is he saying that it is the fault of the concealed carry laws that we have abusive, out-of-control police officers?
And if deaths results, why will they result? In the video, the only one threatening death is the officer, so can we assume that the deaths will result from out-of-control officers "executing" (the original officer's term) citizens "for being stupid" (also original officer's term)?
Alternatively, he thinks concealed carry permit holders who are carrying in the wrong place at the wrong time -- "at 1:30 in the morning in a crime-ridden neighborhood" should be treated as if they are guilty of a crime. Perhaps he wants "bad neighborhoods" to be gun-free zones. That's worked really well for Chicago.
It's no wonder at all that the officer in Canton was so hostile to concealed carry permit holders if this is the sort of guidance he received from the city council president.
The idea that one of the top politicians in Canton would use this incident of police malfeasance to "excoriate" law-abiding concealed carry just burns me up. I live in Ohio and I have to drive through Canton now and then. That makes me feel really great that there is apparently this culture there that regards me as some insane, crazy loose cannon just because I take personal responsibility for my own protection.
The original incident video:
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