Originally Posted By: BillLiptak
IMHO the government is planning on having you make it to the shelters. There, where food, personal space, hygene etc..., may all be in short supply tempers on the other hand may be in abundance. By disarming everybody, there will be no violence. Just like in D.C. The is no firearm violence/murder because there are no guns allowed.....right?


I'm pro 2nd Amendment, pro carry, and for changing DC's laws. Thank goodness the Supreme Court ruled DC's gun ban as unconstitutional. However, I agree that firearms and knives do not belong in a shelter situation - at least by those being sheltered.

Setting aside the argument someone will make regarding what the staff vs the sheltered can do, let me explain. Those needing use of the shelter are the unprepared. Anyone who made preparations can either take care of themselves, they left before the storm arrived (if that was the case), or they were unavoidably and seriously hurt and end up in a hospital or dead.

The prepared have taken the time to prepare themselves mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually (if they are the type) for the unexpected. The unprepared are the ones 99.9% of the time in the shelters. They are also unprepared for catastrophes mentally. Stress and emotions are over the top. When they get stuck in a room with tens, hundreds or thousands like them, that is another disaster waiting to happen. Particularly if someone has a weapon. In normal times they may be cool headed. But under stress and panic, like those observed in the Super Dome during Katrina, people aren't rational and emotion takes over and people get hurt unnecessarily.

It is not a perfect system by any means. Arguably a poor system, especially Katrina. But it is the system now in place and it has worked in many instances; although on a smaller scale. The stark point is, if you put a bunch of unprepared people together, more stupid things will happen. When people become more educated and prepare themselves to avoid these types of situations, like you, they will take it upon themselves to carry a knife for its usefulness. I do and everyone should. The prepared don't need a government organization to tell them what they need to carry in some list. No one will have to take it away their knife in a shelter because they will never have to be there in the first place.

My .02