[Rick Lee]

I remember when I worked at the RNC in 1996 and the FOP endorsed Clinton. We got so many calls by cops outraged that the FOP would support Clinton and a lot of them gave money to the RNC because of it. I have never met a cop that had a problem with guns. I have been pulled over several times while carrying, told the cop so and they didn't care in the least. The one time I was arrested (not carrying), I chatted with the cops about guns all the way back to jail. I had a CCW when I turned 22, which was just after I finished college. But I stayed at Pitt for another year to play with my band and carried all the time. I was also on the skeet team in high school and no one ever thought of mishandling one of the guns.

I also don't for a second buy that cops are gun experts or best equipped to deal with such a situation at as happened at VT. Plenty of cops shoot their guns only once a year to qualify and don't own one aside from their service weapon(s). And since a neighbor of mine was shot to death (unarmed) in his own driveway after complying with police orders and with no arrest record AND it was ruled an accident, well, I just don't believe cops are the experts here. I can shoot as well as or better than plenty of them. And I have almost never seen a cop when something was going down. They are not the best ones to deal with situations because they always show up afterwards to clean up the mess and take the reports. Normal, everyday people are the ones who need to be vigilant and take responsibility for their own safety.