Via Tam I read about a spectacular case of PSH.

PSH – Pants Shittin’ Hysterics

So a man with a gun comes into a city council meeting in Chico, California, addresses the council in support of a library, then leaves. Wow, nothing happened. The gun didn’t just jump and start shooting people. No blood was shed. No one died. Wow. Unbelievable.

Thing is, the man is a former California Highway Patrol officer and had permit to legally carry. So thus, no laws were broken.

But lots of hysterics:

Although the man didn’t violate any laws, it made Mike Maloney uncomfortable as the interim chief of police, he said.

“From my perspective, I can’t see any reason for someone who’s not a peace officer to carry a weapon to the City Council,” Maloney said.

He was uncomfortable. He got his feeling hurt. Time to call the waaambulance.

“The million-dollar question is, why would you bring a weapon to the City Council meeting when we’re talking about library funding and the budget?” Vice Mayor Tom Nickell asked.

Those police officers in the chambers and around the building, why do they have guns at a City Council meeting when you’re talking about libary funding and the budget? Perhaps because the potential for bad guys to do bad things doesn’t get scheduled on your meeting agenda? Back to that whole “Be Prepared” thing. Again, the guy’s an ex-cop and probably has enough personal direct experience to know that it’s wise to be prepared to defend yourself because shit happens.

“My opinion is that members of the public should allow trained professionals to carry and use firearms,” Maloney said.

Hrm. The guy in question? He’s an ex-cop. So I guess as soon as he took off the badge, all of his training was immediately removed from his brain, body, and soul. Now he’s suddenly one of those dangerous citizens that we just cannot trust. Sure 5 minutes ago he was a cop and we trusted him fully with a gun, but now he cannot be trusted!

Wow.

Having seen the effects of gun use, Maloney thinks citizens should instead be good witnesses if they spot a crime, he said.

OK ladies. While you’re being raped, just be sure to be a good witness. That’s what Chico, California Interim Police Chief Mike Maloney wants you to do.

And gosh, if that’s how the Police Chief wants things to be, how much can you expect the police will do anything to protect you? Especially how later in the article it mentions how Chico is down on police officer positions. They just don’t have enough cops to go around to even come and protect the legislators in their meetings, so how are you mere citizens going to be protected on a daily basis? But just remember, be a good witness so you can help the Chico police clean up afterwards.

[Mayor Ann] Schwab was concerned when she heard about the gun, especially considering children were in the audience and the council had a heated discussion on budget issues, she said.

Ah good! Someone was thinking about the children. You know, those children that weren’t harmed at all by a law-abiding citizen doing lawful things; in fact, a law-abiding citizen participating in the legislative process… arguably being a more productive citizen than most! Gosh now, we can’t have any more of that. Children are watching!

Thank God we have hysterical Mayors, Vice Mayors, City Councilmen, and Police Chiefs to keep us safe…. safe from what, I don’t know, but thank God we have them. I would add “Thank God they’re thinking of us” but that implies thinking, and it appears not a lot of that is going on.