Blood in the Streets Read online

  Copyright 2006, Skip Coryell, All Rights Reserved

  No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

  Cover design created by Ron Bell of AdVision Design Group

  (www.advisiondesigngroup.com)

  ISBN 978-0-9831751-8-6

  Printed in the United States of America

  Contents

  Welcome to the Party Pal!

  A Time to Kill - A Time to Die

  Rednecks and Rabblerousers

  Never Give Up! Bite Their Legs Off!

  Open Carry Vs Concealed

  Children, Parents, and Guns

  Gutless, Yellow, Pie Slinger!

  Pistol-free Insanity

  Safety! Safety! Safety!

  Stay Alert - Stay Alive

  Packing Heat is a Pain

  CCW and Nine-eleven

  CCW and Law Enforcement

  The OK Corral

  The PC Gestapo

  The Problem of Stress

  Women and Guns

  Christianity and Killing

  Spirit of Fear

  Hawkeye Carry

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to all those who guard the flock: to law enforcement, our military, and to CCW holders. God bless you all. Thank you for your service.

  Acknowledgements and Thanks

  Thank you to my friends: Ted Nugent, Sheriff Dar Leaf and all the officers of Barry County Michigan, to Sheriff Mark Denniston and all the officers of Jones County Iowa, Chuck Perricone and all of Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners (MCRGO), Sasha Nugent and all of Ted Nugent United Sportsmen of America (TNUSA), and to Craig Frank, Dave Neeson, Roger Burdette, Bobby Napier and Dave Stevens. All of you are sheep dogs with sharp teeth. You help guard my family, and I’ll help guard yours.

  And a special thanks to my good friend Ron Bell for designing the front and back covers of this book.

  Blood

  in the

  Streets

  by

  Skip Coryell

  Introduction

  I’m just the Sheriff, so I’m going to keep this simple. I haven’t written anything more creative than a police report in a long time, but after reading Skip’s book and getting the invitation to be a part of it, I had to take him up on it. I want to help. Skip and I have been friends for many years, and I trust his character. We both have many things in common. We love God, our family and our country. That will never change.

  In this book, Skip talks about sheep, wolves, and sheep dogs. I am a sheep dog, and I have dedicated my life to law enforcement. It is my job to guard honest, law abiding citizens (despite the “Warren v. District of Columbia landmark case that says police have no legal obligation to protect civilians) And I do that even if it means sacrificing my own life. That’s what sheep dogs are all about. We willingly put ourselves in harm’s way even if it means not coming home at night to our wife and kids. I hate the thought of that, but it’s a reality. It’s part of the job.

  I respect Skip and the other CCW holders who are also willing to sacrifice their lives for the innocent. I thank you all very much. You are a rare breed, but a necessary one. Us cops need all the help we can get. It seems like society is going a little crazy these days with all the drugs, the mental illness, and the breakdown in our moral fabric. I’m no sociologist. Like I said before, I’m just the Sheriff, but I can tell you that the streets out there are dangerous.

  But here’s the whole point of what I want to say. Carrying a concealed pistol for protection is not about killing. It’s about love for your fellow man. It was Jesus Christ who said: “Greater love has no man than to lay down his life for a friend.” And when a CCW holder straps on a sidearm, he or she is making a commitment to help us cops guard the flock. They have become part of the solution.

  There is evil in the world, and it must be opposed. So I encourage you to read Skip Coryell’s book and consider joining the ranks of police officers, our military, and our civilian CCW holders. We’re all on the same team. We guard the flock. We oppose the scum. We take out the trash.

  Get training. Get prepared. Complete the transition from sheep to sheepdog, from defenseless victim to a guardian of the innocent. And remember, a sheep has the right to live, but it has no self respect. Like Skip says:

  “Sheep are born and bred for one purpose: to be killed and to have their parts processed into something useful by predators. They stand on the hill and go “Baa”, as they’re being slaughtered.”

  Don’t say “Baa”. Say “Stop or I’ll shoot!” The choice is yours.

  — Dar Leaf, Barry County Sheriff & NRA Training Counselor —

  “Let me get this straight: Running, crying, whimpering, and hiding under desks and pews? You mean to say that when an imbecile walks into a church, office, a day care center, or school, stumbling about, almost zombie-like, with gun-filled hands at his side, blabbering incoherently to his next victim, the reaction of grown men and women is to run, cry, whimper, and hide under a desk or pew? The sheeping of America is nearly complete.”

  — Ted Nugent —

  Welcome to the Party Pal!

  There’ll be Blood in the Streets! Road rage! Shootouts in public! It’ll be like Dodge City all over again!”

  Yeah. Sure. And the sky is falling too. Such were the hysterical cries in my home state of Michigan when the anti-Second Amendment crowd was fighting to prevent Michigan’s concealed carry, shall-issue legislation from being passed. You’d think we were trying to legalize baby killing! Oh, that’s right. It’s already legal to kill babies in America; it’s called abortion. But then I digress.

  That has been the unsubstantiated claim in every state who has ever passed shall-issue CCW legislation: “Blood in the Streets”. Okay, it’s been 10 years. Where’s the blood? That’s odd. I don’t see it. It’s not in the paper; it’s not in the streets. With all the stink made from the far left opposed to CCW, we should be drowning in blood by now. Our streets should be stained by the bright, crimson tide. But it’s not there. Hmmm, maybe they were wrong? Do ya think so?

  And now, even as I write this chapter, I hear about all the fuss over in our neighboring state of Wisconsin, as they fight year after year, trying desperately to pass their own shall-issue CCW bill into law. (And while I’m thinking about it, congratulations and a hearty salute to Iowa on your new CCW law. Good job!)

  “Blood in the streets! We’re all going to die! It’s the end of the world as we know it!”

  After 39 states have passed shall-issue laws, you’d think the anti-Second Amendment crowd could come up with a better argument, but they haven’t, and they can’t. That’s the problem with defending an indefensible position. You are doomed to failure before the first shot is fired – pun intended. It’s gotten to the point where their hysterical cries are laughable.

  So that’s the myth. That’s the fallacy. That’s the out and out lie of CCW. But what is the truth? The media won’t tell you. They don’t want you to know. But why? Why do they want a population of unarmed and defenseless sheep?

  The immortal words of Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) from the movie “Gone with the Wind” come to mind: “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn!”

  People keep asking me “why?”. I no longer care. I no longer give the time of day to every idiot with a political axe to grind. But then they say, “You should be more tolerant of other people’s ideas. You should expand your mind.”

  I’ve got a better idea. Maybe they should reach back and pull their own minds out of their rectums and see the world for what it really is – Dangerous! Always has been –always will be. It’s human nature.

  My friend and mentor, T
ed Nugent, put it like this in his own book “God, Guns, and Rock-n-roll”:

  “Let me get this straight: Running, crying, whimpering, and hiding under desks and pews? You mean to say that when an imbecile walks into a church, office, a day care center, or school, stumbling about, almost zombie-like, with gun-filled hands at his side, blabbering incoherently to his next victim, the reaction of grown men and women is to run, cry, whimper, and hide under a desk or pew? The sheeping of America is nearly complete.”

  I don’t think so! Not this good ole boy! Where is the anger America? Where’s the outrage? Where’s the attitude? Shoot back! Fight back! Pull your cowardly, mangy carcass out from under the table and shoot to stop the threat! Where is your manhood? Where are your cajones! You’d better reach down and check to make sure they’re still there! Cuz if ya don’t use ‘em, you’ll lose ‘em!

  There is already blood in the streets! Gang members shooting each other; drive by shootings; wolves mugging sheeple-people with impunity! America used to be characterized by people who stood up and fought for what was right! Where did that attitude go? Where are the potential sheep dogs who would guard the flock? Stand by for change, or, as Ted would call it, “Upgrade!”

  I’ll tell you where they are: they’re hiding beneath a thin, artificial veneer of political correctness and tolerance. But listen to me, sheeple! Some things were never meant to be tolerated! Robbery, graft, corruption, murder, rape. We can no longer afford to put up with those things here in America. As of this writing, there are over 240,000 sheep dogs in my home state of Michigan. We’re licensed by the government and we’re called CCW holders. That’s a pretty good start. But we need more. Bad-guy-criminal scum beware! The good people of America are righteously angry, armed, and ready to fight back! And NRA Instructors like myself and the good Sheriff Leaf are teaching them how to do it! It’s time to take out the trash! Meth cookers beware! Gangbangers get off the streets! Drug dealers repent and change your ways while you still can! It’s “come to Jesus time” for everyone!

  It’s time to wake up and smell the “Blood in the Streets”, because the blood has always been there, and it will always be around. But all the utopian peacemongers in our society stand up and cry out from their ivory towers with one, loud, naïve voice: “Can’t we all just get along?”

  Give me a break! And let’s all just join hands and circle the campfire, singing endless verses of “Kumbaya”. Oops! What’s wrong with this picture? The guy holding my hand wants to steal my wallet to buy drugs. The guy 5 sheeple down wants to kidnap my son. The sixth person to my left wants to rape my wife. Hmmm, I guess maybe we can’t all “just get along” after all. Reality always gets in the way of utopia, and reality will always be trump.

  Would I like to live forever in peace and harmony? Yes. Will it ever happen? No, not until we reach Heaven. I have a friend who believes that all people are inherently good. I don’t blame him. He wants to feel safe. He has a positive personality, always looking for the good in everyone. To a degree, that’s a good thing. But I remember that on nine-eleven my friend was shattered. Someone had plugged the holes in his bowling ball and there was nothing left for him to grab onto. I remember him asking me: “How could people do such a thing?” I felt sorry for him, but I also wanted to reach around and manually pull his head out of his butt. What a terrible mess that would have been.

  I was abhorred and revolted by nine-eleven, but it didn’t surprise me. I was saddened at the loss of life, but I was equally outraged. One of my favorite Christmas movies is “Diehard” with Bruce Willis. Yes, I know. It’s not really a Christmas movie, but just humor me for a moment. Do you remember the part where John McClane (Bruce Willis) was trapped inside the Nakatomi building and he was trying to get help from the outside world and no one would listen to him? He pulled a fire alarm; that didn’t work. He dialed 911; that didn’t work. Finally, he dropped the dead body of a terrorist onto a police cruiser. Then he very nonchalantly exclaimed to the retreating police officer, “Welcome to the party, pal.” That worked!

  To my naïve friend, and all other misguided people who maintain that humans are inherently good, I point to nine-eleven and exclaim, “Welcome to the party, pal!” There are people out there, wolves, who want to kill you and your family. Are you going to let them? Go ahead if you want to, but as for me and my house, we’re going to fire for effect, and double-tap the center of exposed mass! This is no time in history to be a wussy.

  And, if you still stubbornly believe that people are inherently good, then try to reason it out this way:

  Inherently means: ADJECTIVE: Existing as an essential constituent or characteristic; intrinsic.

  Intrinsic: ADJECTIVE: Of or relating to the essential nature of a thing; inherent.

  Here’s a news flash! Goodness is not the essential nature of humanity. If that were true, then there would be no crime, no need for laws, no need for police, etc. People would intrinsically know what is right and wrong and the natural desire of their heart would be to “do good”. But it’s not. People do bad. And even those of us who resist the temptation of evil, we still harbor secret desires of greed, lust, and violence. Even the best humanity has to offer needs the accountability of law and its corresponding punishment. Else, they will fall into that “human”, downward spiral of graft and corruption.

  And that’s the way it is, folks! I don’t know how else to break it to you. People are bad. Some people are really bad! Some are downright evil incarnate. Now for the rest of you, those who didn’t close the book after my first paragraph, you must now be feeling pretty helpless. You’re probably scared to death. “What! I’m in danger! People are bad? People want to hurt me? Oh no! The sky is falling! We’re all going to die!”

  Shut up and relax before I slap you. Let me encourage you. All is not lost. I want you to run out and take an NRA Personal Protection in the Home Course. Then get yourself a Glock .40 caliber semi automatic with some dependable premium self defense rounds. Corbons and Hydrashocks are both good, and then . . . no more problem! In the immortal words of Colonel Hackworth, God rest his soul, “Stay alert –stay alive”!

  But, if you still insist on remaining a helpless sheep, cowering in a puddle of your own urine, then go ahead. I’ll protect your worthless carcass. After all, I’m a sheep dog. That’s what I do. But don’t you dare try and take away my teeth. Cuz if you do, I will rip your hand off!

  Have a nice day, and drive safely.

  “We were surrounded by Chinese soldiers for two days. They always attacked at dawn, always blowing those bugles, and it made my skin crawl to hear them coming. We kept killing them, but they kept coming.”

  A Time to Kill - A Time to Die

  After that first chapter, half of you are probably cheering, saying, “Yes! Someone finally said what I’ve been thinking!” The rest of you are, no doubt, starting to believe that I’m a blood-and-guts, war-mongering maniac, impatient to shoot the first bad guy who crosses my path. Kind of like Dirty Harry, “Go ahead, make my day!”

  Well, all of that might be true, but the only way for you to find out for sure is to keep on reading. I gotcha now! Your day is mine!

  I’m assuming, of course, that all the bleeding-heart, mamby¬pamby, girlie-men have left the building, and now I can feel free to speak my mind with no danger of harming their delicate sensitivities. Sorry, but in my opinion, all girlie-men belong in San Francisco. In the immortal and mutable words of Horace Greeley, “Go West, young girlie-man! Go West!” Oh, that’s just great! Now you think I’m a raving, homophobic, white, middle-aged male. Well, you’re half right. I’m not afraid of girlie-men, I just make it a policy never to turn my back on them, especially in the shower. (And what are you doing in my shower anyways? Get out of here before I rip your arm off!) Must be something I picked up in the Marine Corps. (Just thinking about it makes my redneck, hindquarters pucker up in revolt.)

  But once again, I digress. What was I talking about? Oh yes, “Go ahead, make my day!” Let’s get se
rious for a moment. In my experience with CCW holders (as an NRA Instructor, I have taught over a thousand of them) they never “want” to pull the trigger. Sometimes they are forced to, but they never desire it, and they never enjoy it. When I teach the NRA Personal Protection in the Home Course, I tell my students this: “There are only two ways to flunk this class. (NRA classes are not designed to flunk people, they are designed to teach people.) First, if you exhibit a pattern of poor safety on the range, you’ll be asked to come back and work with me some more until you’ve replaced those unsafe habits with safe ones. Secondly, anyone who talks about blowing another person away, even jokingly, will not receive an NRA certificate from me. In addition to that, I’ll turn your name into the local gun board, and you’ll never be issued a concealed pistol license in this county.

  A firearm is a tool of last resort, and should be used only to protect an innocent life from imminent death or great bodily injury. Having said that, out of the vast number of students I’ve taught, only a few have been asked to come back because of poor safety habits, and no one has exhibited an aggressive or nonchalant attitude concerning firearms. Firearms can be fun, but they are also a very serious matter.