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Mid Hudson Times, Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Ulster Sheriff urges licensed handgun owners to carry them
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in New York State with regards to carrying a weapon and
when it is legal to use it.”
Van Blarcum then addressed active and retired police.
“We are the thin blue line that is entrusted in keeping this
country safe and we must be prepared to act at any given
moment,” he wrote.
Reaction is swift
The sheriff’s comments drew national attention.
Within days of the post, his statement produced headlines in the New York Times, the Washington Post and the
Wall Street Journal.
The Facebook comments following the post expressed
support and outrage. Some thanked the sheriff and
others included adjectives such as “irresponsible” and
“outrageous” to describe his action.
Ulster County District Attorney Holley Carnright was
quick to respond with his own statement, posted to the
Ulster County DA’s website. “Though I fully support our
right to bear arms and to defend ourselves, I am not convinced more guns in the hands of untrained or unskilled
civilians is the answer and nor do I believe does the sheriff,” Carnright wrote on the site. “I discourage anyone
from misreading the sheriff’s comments.”
Carnright continued, “I would discourage any action
where untrained or unskilled citizens create an opportunity for unintended tragedy, which could pose risk not
only to innocent citizens but to our own law enforcement
personnel.”
Besieged by media requests to respond to Van
Blarcum’s statement, Orange County Sheriff Carl Dubois
and District Attorney David Hoovler issued a joint press
release the next day.
“We have always fully supported the law-abiding citizen’s right to responsibly bear firearms and continue to
do so,” the statement read. “We have arrested and prosecuted licensed gun holders who have acted recklessly
or unlawfully with their firearms. The vast majority of
firearm-permit holders act responsibly and realize that
holding a pistol permit does not make them either police
officers or vigilantes.”
Their statement went on to encourage licensed gun
owners to take gun-training courses.
Calls requesting information on gun-safety from the
Orange County Sheriff’s Office were not returned in time
for this story. According to the Sheriff’s Office webpage,
a three-hour handgun-safety course is required for pistol
permits in Orange County. Permit requirements vary
from county to county.
Lack of training a problem
It was on the subject of training that Town of Newburgh
Police Chief Michael Clancy expressed most concern.
“My personal position is I don’t encourage people to
carry guns,” Clancy said. “The fact of the matter is, there
are a lot of people licensed to carry firearms. A lot of
them are proficient with their use of weapons. But, there
are a lot of people who don’t have the training or knowledge on how to use them.”
Just because someone takes the initial safety training
required for a pistol permit “doesn’t mean that qualifies
them to use their weapon against another human being,”
the police chief said. “My experience shows me, there
are a lot of people who are licensed to carry guns that
shouldn’t be, either because of lack or training or lack of
practice,” he said.
Clancy cited Article 35 of the New York State Penal
Law, which details when it is legal to use force against
another person. The law states “the (person) may not
use deadly force if he or she knows that, with complete
personal safety to oneself and others, he or she may avoid
the necessity of doing so by retreating.”
Exceptions to this rule include when a person, not the
aggressor, is in his or her home.
Had people present during the attack in San Bernardino
carried firearms, Clancy said, there’s no telling what
would have transpired.
A case against vigilantism
“Could they have stopped the threat?” Clancy asked.
“Possibly. Could they have prevented more bloodshed?
Possibly. The problem in a situation like that is, another person with a firearm adds to the confusion. In that
kind of situation, a well-intentioned person starts firing
back… and there’s gunfire all over the place.”
He added, “In the early stages of an event, you don’t
know what’s going on. Police are faced with critical decisions. They need to figure out who is who. They need to
make split-second decisions.”
Clancy pointed to a shooting that took place over the
weekend in Wisconsin as an example. Several people
were taken hostage at a motorcycle shop in Neenah,
Wisconsin on Saturday. One of the hostages, 60-year-old
Michael Funk, fled the shop while holding a gun. After
refusing to comply with police orders to drop his gun, he
was shot and later died. “Apparently, he was licensed to
carry a firearm,” Clancy said.
Though Funk was shot at by police, reports state it is
possible he may have been shot by a hostage-taker as he
exited the building.
In such a scenario, a gun might also be used against
an untrained gun owner, Clancy said. “They could have
their weapon taken away by a bad guy,” he said. “You
need to retain a weapon if you’re in a struggle. You don’t
want that weapon to become available to someone who
could turn it against you.”
Clancy had this advice for lawful gun owners: “Get
the training you need to properly handle them and know
when you can use them,” he said. “Try not to take the
law into your own hands unless there is an imminent
threat to your life. Call the police, call 9-1-1. Try to avoid
confrontation if you can.”
In his post last week, Carnright also urged cautio