Hoplophobics Unite! Post-911 Paranoia is at Hand!

“A journalist smuggled a replica handgun into the European Parliament in Brussels as Prince Charles walked past him,” mirror.co.uk reports. “Yann-Antony Noghes, reporting for French TV, slipped through an unguarded side door with the fake metal weapon, to expose ‘gaping holes’ in security. It happened on Wednesday last week as the Prince addressed a climate conference. British MEP Fiona Hall said: ‘Security is a farce.'” I like that. “Security is a farce.” Not “Prince Charles’ security is a farce.” ALL security . . .

Which, in many ways, is the truth. You can not protect everyone from everything. Life is a dangerous business with a messy end. No matter what. Heads-up! There are guns in this world. At the risk of restating gun rights advocates’ main talking point since the year dot, guns aren’t the problem. Bad people using guns are the problem.

The idea that an enterprising journalist could get within spitting distance of Prince Charles with a fake weapon tells you more about people freaked-out by the close encounter than Prince Charles’ security arrangements. Speaking of which . . .

A suspect who walked into the Des Moines police station with an unloaded gun this week reinforced the need for tighter security in the 90-year-old building, police said.

The suspect did nothing wrong by bringing the weapon to the station, police emphasized.

But the incident points out the need for tighter restrictions on who can walk into random offices and hallways at police headquarters, Assistant Chief Dave Lillard said.

Again, the proximity of a gun that couldn’t hurt anyone, held by someone with no intention of hurting anyone, has people all a tizzy. Only this times it’s the cops. Ready for this? According to desmoinesregister.com, the gun in question was unloaded and locked in a case.

Pablo Luis Suarez, 38, of Winterset had made arrangements to turn himself in on a weapons violation and a criminal mischief warrant before he went to the station house Thursday.

He was alleged to have displayed a gun to a motorist during an altercation earlier in the week.

Suarez was told he could voluntarily turn himself in to police and was also asked to turn in his firearm. He unloaded the gun, locked it in a case and went to the station.

He walked in a north, ground-level door, which put him in a hallway of the uniform division. He handed the gun case to the first officer he saw.

The reason Suarez was able to walk into the downstairs hallway of the patrol section is that a public elevator is located there. The only other way to get to the main floor is by climbing a series of steps.

Police plan to close off the first-level hallway, while still allowing easy access to the elevator, Lillard said.

Citizens for most of the past 90 years have been allowed access to most of the building.

Yeah, we gotta stop that action. In a building full of armed police. I mean honestly folks, the simple presence of a gun isn’t the worst thing that can happen to you. Not by a long chalk.