GRNC Alert 10-25-11: Gun-Grabbing Wake Forest Parks and Recreation Director Shut Down by Reasonable Town Council… For Now…

We will remain vigilant and confront any additional effort to violate Second Amendment freedom in Wake Forest!

As was expected following GRNC’s success in getting parks carry passed, several anti-freedom municipalities have drafted legislation attempting to circumvent the spirit, and sometimes even letter of the this new and important law. The latest offense manifests as the misguided brainchild of Wake Forest Parks and Recreation Director, Ruben Wall. Wall has proposed to ban weapons in playgrounds, athletic fields and picnic shelters of the 10 parks and four buildings that unfortunately fall under his jurisdiction.

• “Gun-free” zones are the most dangerous places in our state. Parks, where we go with our families to play and relax should be the safest!
• Only armed law-abiding citizens can make parks safe!
• Kudos to Commissioner Frank Drake who objected to the proposed ordinance as inconsistent with Second Amendment rights of Wake Forest citizens.
• Kudos to Commissioner Chris Kaeberlein for pledging support of the Second Amendment and opposition to ordinances that would restrict our rights.
• Kudos to Wake Forest Police Capitan Darren Abbacchi who pointed-out that open carry is legal in our State, and that it will be difficult to enact a town-wide “display ban” ala Chapel Hill and Cary.
• Kudos to Wake Forest Mayor Vivian Jones who wisely tabled discussion of the imprudent proposed ordinance.

Like malicious boomerangs, these types of ill-conceived proposals have a way of coming back…

• We need to make sure this bad idea stays gone.
• Let’s contact the Wake Forest Board of Commissioners and Mayor.
• Let’s thank those who have spoken on behalf of law-abiding citizens who wish to defend themselves and their families while enjoying town parks.
• Let’s also warn them that efforts to post recreational facilities and buildings against concealed carry will be opposed.
• Finally, let’s assure them that any attempt to enact a Chapel Hill/Cary-type “display ban” will be met with the most vigorous and unrelenting opposition that they can imagine.

Contact

• Contact the Commissioners and Mayor of Wake Forest, NC.
• Email them at (copy & paste address list):

mayor@wakeforestnc.gov, ckaeberlein@wakeforestnc.gov, ahines@wakeforestnc.gov, fdrake@wakeforestnc.gov, pthibodeau@wakeforestnc.gov, mstinnett@wakeforestnc.gov

• Deliver the (polite) message below:

Deliver This Message

Dear Wake Forest Town Officials,

It has come to my attention that Wake Forest Parks and Recreation Director, Ruben Wall, has recently proposed to ban both concealed and open carry in certain Wake Forest recreational areas in response to recent ratification of HB 650, “Castle Doctrine and Concealed Carry Permitted in Parks”.

I am very appreciative of the support Commissioners Frank Drake and Chris Kaeberlein have shown for the Second Amendment rights of Wake Forest citizens, and for the efforts of Wake Forest Police Capitan Darren Abbacchi in explaining that North Carolinians have the legal right to bear defensive arms. Mayor Jones was wise in tabling discussion of Wall’s imprudent proposed ordinance.

Within in every jurisdiction where law-abiding citizens have been allowed to legally carry a firearm, violent crime has gone down, not up (see Lott, referenced below). This includes states, municipalities, parks, restaurants, and even bars. Permit holders in North Carolina have been vetted by local law-enforcement and the FBI to be law-abiding, sane, sober, trained in the use of a firearm, and knowledgeable of our laws regarding self-defense. Everyone, including parents and children at a ball game, are safer when one is nearby. Someday your life or the life of someone you love may be saved by a citizen legally carrying a defensive arm.

We live in a dangerous society. I’m sure you recall the deadly massacre at Virginia Tech in 2007. A potential ban of guns carried by responsible adults in your parks and recreational areas will create an environment much like the Virginia Tech campus. The Virginia Tech tragedy was only possible because law-abiding students, staff and faculty members were prohibited from carrying defensive arms, yet a criminal came with a gun anyway. It should be clear to any reasonable person that criminals are attracted to places where they know they will not meet effective resistance.

As you know, banning the legal carry of defensive arms in Wake Forest will require a town-wide “display ban” similar to what has been unconstitutionally-implemented in Chapel Hill and Cary.

I urge you in the strongest terms to avoid consideration of similar infringements of the rights of free Americans within the Town of Wake Forest. Any effort you make to enact such a ban will be met with the vigorous and unrelenting opposition of gun owners across the state.

I will be following progress and will alert Grass Roots North Carolina if you should make it necessary to do so. Please do not.

Sincerely,

A concerned NC voter

Reference: “More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control Laws”, Third Edition (Studies in Law and Economics) by John R. Lott Jr.

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