Gun-toting Soccer Mom is wrong.

I've linked to a story on msnbc.com today. I'm pissed off. While I may be far more liberal than most of the LEO spouses I know, I am very pro-2nd amendment.

But I've got to side with the sheriff in this instance. Basically, if you don't feel like following the link, this woman got her license to carry, then wore the gun to a soccer match. For five year olds.

Don't get me wrong, I am not arguing her right to wear it, but I am arguing her right to a brain. What moron wears a weapon in plain view at a soccer match? I'll take a moment here to mention that I am assuming the article correctly reports that she wore it openly at the match.

Perhaps the sheriff shouldn't have completely revoked her license, but perhaps the details of the license requires you carry using COMMON SENSE? The Sheriff does mention the state law prohibiting licensure of "questionable characters." (My own wording)

Furthermore, the details of the litigation are just preposterous. She's suing the sheriff for revoking her license on the grounds that her babysitting service has suffered, and her husband joins the suit because he has lost his wife's "companionship, consortium, society and services."

You're fucking kidding me, right? If the parents she babysat for didn't know she was a gun advocate, perhaps she wasn't being honest with them. Not the sheriff's fault. If she has become uncompanionable and antisocial because she temporarily lost her license to carry a gun, again, not the sheriff's fault.

Feel free to let the debating begin. Being licensed to carry a gun and being wise enough to know when to advertise it are not mutual. Perhaps they should be.

Yes we are, no we aren't. yes, no, yes, no...

Well the SWAT team is finally building themselves quite a caseload lately. Aside from the standard hostage/barricaded subject situations, they are being utilized for more events. A few months ago there was a biker gathering at a local Harley store, and the biker gangs in attendance began systematically and methodically attacking a man from a rival gang. From what I understand, one person would emerge from the crowd, assault him, and then fade into the crowd. Another person would do the same thing, so on and so forth. I'm sure there's some crazy name among the gangs for what this activity is called.

The regular deputies on the detail made a point of breaking up the fights as best they could. Apparently one of the deputies kicked out the girlfriend of one of the gang leaders. *GASP* How dare they, right? Said gang leader begins making threats against the sheriff's office. There continues to be scuttlebutt that these gangs are going to 'throw down' at the next biker gathering. So the SWAT team was called in for extra presence. They ended up not using any special tactics because nothing happened. Most of the gangs didn't even show up.

But the drug task force has also been using the team to help with raids and warrants and such. One of the situations that they have been helping with lately is of a rather touchy subject matter, one which I was not given a lot of details, and which I will be sharing even less than I know with this blog. I'm sure you understand. In fact the particular nature of this situation is such that the newer team members weren't permitted to join the team. I'm sure down the road when they have had more training and the team leaders have a better grasp on their skillsets, that will change.

But I bring it up because it is one of those "let's get ready and wait" situations. The nature of having a part-time team is that its members are spread out over the entire county. As of the time and day I am writing this post, the team has been notified four times to be ready and to meet at X time. And all four times the callout has been cancelled. The first and third times it was cancelled when J was fully or mostly geared up but hadn't left the house. The second time they rallied, ran some practice drills and were all together ready to go and just waiting impatiently to go. The fourth time happened to occur while the team had already gathered for routine (unrelated) training.

Unfortunately for J during that 4th time, he was at a separate deputy training, and didn't even get a page.

And boy was he ticked. He's been irritated each time the callout got cancelled. This goes back to that sheepdog mentality, they *want* to jump into the fray. I think he was particularly upset that not only had it been cancelled on him three times, but that the likelihood it would actually go down while he was at the training was increasing.

On the other hand it's something I guess we just have to get used to, particularly if the team is going to be used a lot more.

life.

Well life tends to have its way with you sometimes. This will kind of be a rambly post.

I'm sure all of you know how tough the economy is right now. For those of us who don't work in a field that will always be necessary to society, our jobs are sometimes a bit tenuous. A third of my department got laid off last month. Fortunately I was safe, but I ended up doing the job of two people. It's been a stressful time. As if I didn't have enough time before...hooo boy.

As a result of being overworked and underpaid (i know, join the club, right?), I ended up getting sick. I have been laid up on my couch for the last three days. It doesn't help that I couldn't exactly figure out what was wrong with me. I felt like I'd been beat up, horrendous headache, nausea, lightheaded...it sucked.

However, I did have the pleasure of attending a party for the USMC birthday on Saturday, shortly before feeling as though I ran into a brick wall. Got to see a few more of the SWAT team, get to know them a little better. And yes, the newest members were there. I can tell you that she is the type of personality that fits in well with cops. I'll leave it at that for now.

One thing that I took out of that party is how easy it is to forget your 'manners' when you get back to normal society. At a cop party, there are pretty much no taboo subjects, no holds barred. You are expected to bust chops, crack jokes, and hear much more about these people that you do about your average Joe. I heard quite a few stories about one guy's wife, although generally the stories were about him and er...his shooting ability, let's say. Very, very amusing. You really have to be able to laugh at yourself, and dish it out as ruthlessly as you can.

I then get back to my mommy-group and crack jokes, later remembering that I have to watch myself and make sure they aren't misinterpreting what I've written! Fortunately I don't have a problem remembering what's taboo while I'm at work.

I'd love to hear some of my LEO family readers post their own cop-party stories though, if you're willing :)