Today on Glenn Becks national radio show, he interviewed Ted Nugent. I don't really want to get into a debate on the merits of either man, but I wanted to share an excerpt from the beginning of the interview. As a little back story, there was some crazed guy in New York City that stole some knives from a deli or something and started stabbing people in the street. He stabbed this lady multiple times to the chest and face until an off duty cop saw it and shot him down. No one helped until the cop got there because in NYC, there are only 200 valid CFP in the city of 18 million people and he had a knife and everyone else had nothing. Glenn is for more guns and people carrying them and had Ted on the show to talk about it and other things.

-start-
GLENN: Ted Nugent is on phone with us. Ted.

NUGENT: Hey, happy October to you, Glenn.

GLENN: They tell me you like guns.

NUGENT: I'm fondling guns as we speak. I'm calling you from a beautiful Texas campfire at a hunting camp here in Albany, Texas, campfires, cops, heroes, military, plumbers, welders and teachers and ranchers and guitar players and we all carry guns and we can't imagine how a human being of consciousness, a human being of goodwill and decency and certainly independence and knowledge and an understanding of good over evil would ever go forth in this world in a known and intentional unarmed helplessness. In the scenario you just talked about, Glenn, horrifically, this unfolds on an hourly basis around the world and certainly right here in the United States of America. And for people to dismiss the horror and tragedy with which you are conveying on this radio show and then still shake their heads, purse their lips and walk out of their houses knowingly unarmed and helpless, it boggles my mind. I can't imagine such a wimpy, helpless accepted condition, and I would like people to man up, to freedom up, to good over evil up and people should do what we've done around the country, get their concealed weapons permit, train, get a modicum of tactical understanding of weapon retention, weapon utility and stop evil and not wait for the multiple stab wounds. Stop the person now. And Glenn, in every instance, like this cop, this off-duty cop who stopped evil and deadliness, we the people can do that. We're not stupid. I know who the bad guy is and I'm just a guitar player.
-end-

Wow, that pretty much sums it up for me. Intentional unarmed helplessness. I couldn't have put it better myself. If you are reading the firearms section of the Zombie Squad then I am probably preaching to the choir, but it does feel good to hear stuff like this from time to time.

New York is a city of 8 million, not 18 million.

Welll......actually: New York City is the second most densely populated city in the United States, behind nearby Union City, New Jersey. The New York metropolitan area, with a population of nearly 19 million (18,818,536), ranks among the largest urban areas in the world.

According to Wikipedia.


And from the US Census Bureau:

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/36000.html

Population, 2006 estimate 19,306,183

Yes, the New York metropolitan area is almost 19 million people, but that geographic region extends into north Jersey and Long Island, as well. It's not just New York City proper, nor even entirely within the geographic boundaries of New York state.

New York state as a whole, has a population of just under 19 million.

If you're talking about New York City, meaning the Five Boroughs, it's a little over 8 million people.

If you're talking about Manhattan (the city, county, and state of New York) it's only 1.5 million people.

It really just depends on what you're refering to as "New York."


--Hatch

That's almost the entire population of Australia!

Although, I heard that NY had the worlds largest police to citizen ratio, or the largest police department, or something to that effect..

I'm from New York...the state...but when I say, "I'm from New York", people always assume mid-town Manhattan, which is what 95% of people mean/think when the say New York...

I grew up in the "inner city" of New York City, which means the central part of the city, although 95% of people mean/think ghetto with racist connotations when they use the term...

I live in Upstate New York, which can mean to different people anything from the Catskills to Albany to Saratoga to the Adirondacks...so when I say it, I usually clarify by adding, "near Lake Placid, up in the Adirondacks."

The words and terms that we use are important, especially when they are regional and open to different interpretations...

My sister this weekend shared that she thought that New York City would be the best place to be in a zombie outbreak because there are lots of stores...I love her, but she'll be one of the first to be eaten in the zombocalypse...

Back on topic...TN is really very well spoken, and stated his position quite eloquently...

nfa

Being from Georgia and living in Utah, I have no idea how many people live in or around New York. I got that from the show, so he must have meant the surrounding area. But if you want to take just the 5 burrows then you have 200 Concealed permits for 8 million people. Still not a good ratio.

In Utah, as of Dec. 31 2006, there are currently 80,235 Concealed Firearms permits out of 2.5 million people (3%).

In the company I work for, there are about 250 people in our local office and I know of 5 that carry regularly. When I get my permit in the mail in the next couple of weeks, that will make 6. Our former(deceased) CEO would want us to bring our new guns in to show him after they were purchased. I guess it is just part of the gun culture.

Maybe it is just me, but the more good people around me that can obtain a permit and carry the better I feel.

So that means the police should be your PERSONAL bodyguard...not gonna happen

There is a reason self-defense starts with SELF

NYPD, which currently has a uniformed strength of just under 38,000 officers, would bump (in terms of size) numbers 79-100 in a list of the top 100 armies in the world...

nfa

Then entire metro area is actually 28 million. I recently did a little research on just this topic. Expect 30 million in five years.

The Nuge is the shiznit. Thats all there is to it. I wish I could spend just ONE day,just one, hunting with the man. I also wish he would run for President.

while at the NRA convention this summer I litterally ran into Ted.

I was like sorry guy got distracted

He said not a problem

about 1 minute later I was like HOLY SHIT THAT WAS TED NUGGENT.

Not long ago there was a man in the news who addressed a city council I think it was. His quote I'll always remember...
"911. When seconds count, the police are only minutes away."
That says it all. The police are great at investigating and cleaning up the bodies but when it comes down to it they can't protect you the individual. They would if they could, but they can't. I'm not dissing the police, they have a tough job and some things they can stop. Let's face it though, if it's not an ongoing situation or it happens right in front of one then you're on your own.

Cops are not your bodyguards...self-defense starts with SELF

Know the facts! http://www.gunfacts.info/

NYC's population was 8 million when people were willing to answer census forms. That was back in the fifties.
I can remember walking in parts of Brooklyn and Queens in the sixties and compared to nowadays, it's much more crowded.

Subletting back then was almost unheard of. Nowadays it's the norm. The average person on the street wouldn't see it until the inevitable residential fire that drives several families from a single family home.
The average patrol cop knows the score. I can't remember how many domestic violence calls I answered that led back to a house or building basement with not one, but two ore more apartments in it. If we were only allowed to do building code inspections...

Sanitation Department workers average ridiculous amounts of overtime to deal with the garbage generated by residential areas.

Unless the average New Yorker takes two baths and drinks a keg of water daily, there are a lot more than eight mil here.

They have worked on shaving response times despite lower head count (I don't think we have even 37,000 nowadays).

Even if we could guarantee a four minute response time, how long does it take for a bullet to splatter your brains/heart/lungs all over the pavement? How about a baseball bat or a meat cleaver?

Well said Jor-el.

And thank you Aw Puch for those relevant and frighteningly true statistics.

At the end of the day the individual is solely responsible for his or hers own safety and security.

Regarding the New York City population debate there is one thing that everyone is forgetting. We may have 8 million local residents in NYC proper, but we have probably double that coming in and out every day as commuters. Granted they can't get permits valid in NYC due to the lack of reciprocity (even within New York State) but figured I'd add more food for the fray.

Regarding The Nuge: He may be crazy, but he's my kind of crazy.

that is all.

So the NYPD has more men that 60% of the nations in the world?

Depends on your definition of "men".