From my favorite local "rag", The 1960 Sun...
Cy-Fair gun shop owner sets record straight
By: Joel Weckerly , Editor
Many adjectives could be used to describe outspoken Houston talk show host Jim Pruett. Over the last month, however, he has been claiming only one: misunderstood.
The owner of Jim Pruett's Guns & Ammo in Cypress says the media backlash stemming from a commercial he aired in early September has been largely slanted in the wrong direction.
The ad, which touted his concealed handgun license classes, began with Pruett's warning about "Katricians," the criminal element of Hurricane Katrina evacuees in Houston:
"When the Katricians themselves are quoted as saying 'the crime rate is going to go up' if they don't get more free rent, it's time to get your concealed handgun license...," he said in the ad.
Pruett's motivation for the spot derived from a quote he heard by an evacuee on KTRH radio that said if FEMA's support money was taken away, he would have to turn to crime to get by.
Since then the 62-year-old who makes up one-half of the Pruett & Shannon Show on 97.5 FM has been defending his comments through various national TV, radio and print media outlets.
"They interpreted it as me saying that the Houstonians should arm themselves against the evacuees, which is not what I said at all," Pruett said. "I said whenever the criminal element of the evacuees are saying the crime rate's going to go up, it's time to get your handgun license. The science of it is, if anybody threatens you and if you have a concealed handgun, you're more likely to have the tool of defense with you if you need it."
On Aug. 31, FEMA withdrew its assistance for the first 5,000 households of Katrina evacuees in Houston. An additional 20,000 families are scheduled to lose their checks Oct. 31, while all evacuees lose their FEMA benefits by February.
More than 111,000 New Orleanians are still in Houston a year after Hurricane Katrina, and almost 60 percent of those living in Texas are jobless. Pruett said he found it "astonishing" that of Houston's 262 homicides between Jan. 1 and Aug. 26, Katrina evacuees are suspects or victims in 59 cases. [He and any critics of his ought to sit on a Harris County Grand Jury and see just how many charges are pertaining to folks from LA! I'm pretty sure the jail has plenty of room for all of them if that's where they choose to reside!]
The Department of Public Safety reported that in 2006, the number of issued concealed handgun permits has risen almost 25 percent in Harris County. Pruett, too, has seen a similar spike in permit class attendance since his ad came out.
"It's been marvelous for publicity," he said. "Our classes always fill up because we have a 53-student limit and we do one every three weeks, but now they fill up immediately. We've already filled up Oct. 22 and we're now working on Nov. 12, which is unheard of."
Pruett also said the increased crime has made local citizens - including visitors to his shop - feel unsafe.
On Oct. 3 he even witnessed the Harris County Sheriff's Department track down a shooter who was hiding in the brush 50 yards behind Pruett's shop on Huffmeister Road.
"Right in your own backyard the chaos can be going on," he said, recalling another story from a customer. "I had a businessman come in a couple weeks ago and say he needed to take my class and buy a gun. He said he had apparently cut off someone in traffic, and when he stopped at a light the other driver pulled up next to him and pointed a gun right at his head. He told me, 'I hate this city.' That's pretty powerful stuff."
Whether it's a "Katrician" or any other additional criminal, Pruett claims his message has been clear all along: those who face a physical threat must be prepared to defend themselves.
"You alone are responsible for your immediate safety," he said. "We tell people that the police are not your bodyguards. They'll come eventually, but here in the county it takes a while sometimes. We think the best way to protect yourself is with a handgun."
One final word on the subject from me...
Jim Pruett for Mayor! Jim Pruett for Governor! Jim Pruett for U.S. Congress! Jim Pruett for U.S. Senate! Hell, Jim Pruett for President!
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2 comments:
I second that motion!
I'll vote for Jim Pruett if he can guarantee his guns do not show up in Mexico.
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