RSS | Go mobile | Favorite Examiners | Meet the Examiners

Weather for Miami | 78° Broken Clouds

Search articles from thousands of Examiners

Miami

Select your city

Write for us

Miami

Politics

Seattle Gun Rights Examiner

Add to favorites Examiner Bio

If King County Executive needs security, he should buy a pistol, learn to use it

June 9, 9:31 AM

Seattle Gun Rights Examiner

Dave Workman

Previous Next

8 comments

RSS

King County Sheriff Sue Rahr is quickly proving that she is nobody with whom to tangle when it comes to making tough calls, trimming fat from a budget and putting public officials on the spot.

In Tuesday’s on-line edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, reporter Scott Gutierrez reveals a proposal from Rahr to interim King County Executive Kurt Triplett – who replaced Ron Sims when he flew off to a cushy “bail out” job with the Obama administration (What else could one call it? Sims was not likely to get re-elected this fall, and just about everybody knew it.) – about how to cut $200,000 from her budget. She explained this in a letter to Triplett.

She would eliminate his security detail, consisting of two sheriff’s detectives. This detail has been with every county executive since the 1980s with the exception of Tim Hill, and a couple of years ago, the department started officially budgeting for it, to the tune of about $60,000 overtime in addition to their regular salaries.

He is afforded Sims' security detail, which includes a sheriff's detective who drives him to and from work and meetings. Two detectives are assigned to the unit...

According to a reliable source in the sheriff’s office, a detective picks up the executive at his doorstep every morning, goes with him to meetings and events throughout the day and in the evening, and then takes him home at night. This security detective also accompanies the executive on out-of-town trips. We should all endure that kind of pampering.

Truth be known, we’re not just talking about two detectives. There has to be someone else available in case one of the primary people is on sick leave or vacation.

Detectives assigned to the executive’s security detail typically work more than 40 hours a week, and fair labor standards require overtime payment for that.

Here’s a suggestion for self-important public officials who think they cannot travel safely without a security detail: Buy a handgun and learn to use it. Us lowly private citizens - your constituents - do that. Carry it with you on the job. If you are not licensed to carry concealed, get a Concealed Pistol License (CPL). Washington State’s CPL is recognized in about 18 states, and if you need cover in the rest of the states, get either or both a Utah or Florida non-resident carry license (mine is from Florida), and that will just about cover all of your bases.

If you worry about traveling to places that do not recognize or allow concealed carry, just don’t go there. Insist that meetings be held in gun-friendly jurisdictions. For meetings with the president or a member of the cabinet, meet them over breakfast at a Denny’s in Virginia.

Further, it seems inappropriate to maintain this level of staffing when we are reducing staffing for the safety of the 340,000 citizens living in unincorporated KingCounty. My officers remain at your disposal should you, or any County employee, receive threats - Sheriff Sue Rahr in a letter to Interim Executive Kurt Triplett

If you don’t want to bother with a CPL, then carry your pistol openly. The drawback in Washington is that to carry it loaded in your car – which you drive yourself back and forth to work, by the way – you need a CPL. It’s stupid, of course, but this is one state statute you can work to change in Olympia, and you would have lots of support from the Open Carry community.

If you need to go through papers or study something enroute to a meeting, have one of those $100,000-a-year-aides drive and leave the cops alone to track down criminals.

Worried about competent instruction? There are at least two top level shooting schools in this region, Insights in Issaquah and the Firearms Academy of Seattle, down in…Onalaska (don’t ask), or train with your own county sheriff’s deputies. If none of those options appeal to you, give me a call and I’ll teach you. I’m a certified firearms instructor, and as an added bonus, I’ll toss in a copy of my book, Washington State Gun Rights and Responsibilities, to keep you in line with the state laws on firearms and self-defense.

County executives should not require a security detail, and should not have to worry about their personal safety. When he was president, Andy Jackson was known to carry a pistol. He once clobbered a guy with a club, and then challenged the man to a duel (but according to history, the other guy’s horse bolted with the dueling pistols). Another time, Jackson fatally shot a guy – again in a duel – over insulting remarks the man had made about Jackson’s wife, Rachel. Nowadays, instead of defending your wife’s honor in a duel, it is considered “manly” to go whining to Dr. Phil.

After leaving the White House upon the death of her husband, Mrs. Roosevelt moved to New York City, where she obtained a permit to carry a handgun.

In Jackson’s days, leaders stood their ground and didn’t depend on somebody else’s gun to keep them safe. Leaders didn’t worry about armed citizens, because they, themselves, were also armed. Everyone got along better back in those days. Even Eleanor Roosevelt, when she was First Lady, carried a revolver because she liked to do things without a Secret Service escort. She continued carrying a handgun after leaving the White House. Her uncle, Teddy Roosevelt, carried a handgun when he was president.

Of course, there is another option for public officials who fear some angry taxpayer might try to do them harm.

Stop doing things that make taxpayers angry.

Visit with other Gun Rights Examiners:

David Codrea

Ed Stone

Paul Valone

Daniel White

For more info: Washington State Gun Rights and Responsibilities.

More About: gunrights · Seattle · Washington State · Crime · Gun Control · Self-Defense · King County Sheriff · Personal Protection

News reports: President Barak Obama to announce sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan

Charlie Crist, failing the GOP purity test?

Governor appoints Republicans to replace embattled Democrats on County Commission and School Board

Thank you Xerox

As Governor's race field widens, Floridians increasingly seek populism from their officials

Comments

Inside 'New Moon'
Get inside info on all things New Moon.
Robert Pattinson | Taylor Lautner

Recent Articles

Has Holder spilled beans on Obama gun registration plan?

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Did Attorney General Eric Holder recently “spill the beans” on the Obama administration’s desires to implement some kind of national …

Another ‘victory’ for ‘Zero” tolerance

Monday, November 23, 2009

For those who missed his appearance on Fox & Friends Monday morning, Willows High School junior Gary Tudesko, with his mother, Susan Parisio at …

All Articles »

Things to see and do

Today

Megadeth

25 Nov 2009 - 8 pm

Revolution Live

More music »

New York Rangers at Florida Panthers
Bank Atlantic Center

Hippo Slide
Jungle Island

See all Events »

Examiner Articles
by Category

Arts & Entertainment
Bars & Clubs
Business & Finance
Careers & Workplace
Education & Schools
Family & Parenting
Fitness & Weight Loss
Food & Drink
Gadgets & Tech
Games & Hobbies
Health
Home & Living
Neighborhoods

News
Pets
Politics
Recreation
Relationships
Religion & Spirituality
Restaurants
Society & Culture
Sports
Style & Fashion
Transportation
Travel
View the latest »

If King County Executive needs security, he should buy a pistol, learn to use it

Subscribe

Related Articles:

Comments

Popular Articles

Recent Articles

Things to see and do

Name: Comments:
characters left NOTE: Do Not Alter These Fields: Contact Email: Contact Email: Contact Url: Subscribe to Blog: Remember my Info: