Jim Pruett manages to stir up some new controversy

Paladin · Post by **Paladin** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 10:47 am

Apparently CHL applications are up too.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld ... ome-nation

"Arm Against 'Katricians,' Gun Dealers Tell Houston
Hurricane evacuees protest as hostility spills out over rising crime rates in the city.
By Miguel Bustillo, Times Staff Writer
September 18, 2006

HOUSTON â€” When the "Katricians" rise up in violence, Houstonians had better be packing some serious heat.

That's the inflammatory message of a new gun-shop commercial on the radio that gives Hurricane Katrina evacuees a vaguely alien-sounding name, and advises Texans to take up arms to defend themselves against crimes committed by the newcomers.

"When the 'Katricians' themselves are quoted as saying the crime rate is gonna go up if they don't get more free rent, then it's time to get your concealed-handgun license," warns the radio ad by Jim Pruett, who co-hosts a bombastic talk-radio show and owns Jim Pruett's Guns & Ammo, a self-styled "anti-terrorist headquarters" that sells knives, shotguns, semi-automatic rifles and other weapons. As Pruett describes the dangers posed by "Katricians," glass can be heard shattering, and a bell tolling ominously.

The radio spot highlights what many gun-store owners say is a hot trend in Houston: trade in weapons amid a surge in the homicide rate that police attribute to the more than 100,000 hurricane evacuees still in the city. Though the gun sale reports are largely anecdotal, Texas officials said applications for concealed-weapons permits were up statewide: 60,328 from Jan. 1 to Sept. 1 this year, compared with 46,298 for the same period last year.

The Houston Police Department estimates that one in five homicides in the city now involves Katrina evacuees â€” as suspect, victim or both. Many Houston residents, including some evacuees, are worried that crime will only get worse once housing and other public assistance end.

Hurricane evacuees and the nonprofit groups that have been helping them rebuild their lives are saddened by what they see as a growing tendency in Texas to stereotype the predominantly African American newcomers as hoodlums, based on the crimes of a few.

Parnell "Herb" Herbert, a spoken-word artist and community organizer from New Orleans who wound up in Houston after the hurricane, said he chafed at being called a Katrina evacuee because he believed the label had taken on a negative connotation in the media and did not describe who he was.

"I am not a Katrina evacuee; I am a New Orleanian living in Houston. I am a father, a grandfather, a Vietnam vet," Herbert said.

"Now this guy wants to call me a 'Katrician' or 'Katrinanite' or whatever, which sounds like Martian or something," he added. "It's frightening to see what is happening. When we were brought here from Africa, we were dehumanized."

Though evacuees seethe over the generalizations, they are no longer surprised to hear them expressed. This month, Texas gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman, a cigar-chomping humorist and musician running a populist campaign, joined the chorus of anti-evacuee sentiment.

"The musicians and artists have mostly moved back to New Orleans now," Friedman said. "The crackheads and the thugs have decided to stay here. They want to stay here. I think they got their hustle on, and we need to get ours."

Friedman later clarified that he was not calling all evacuees in Texas crackheads and thugs, and his campaign disclosed that the independent candidate had been housing a New Orleans musician friend since the storm. Nonetheless, evacuees and activists accused him of pandering to voters' racial prejudice.

Hostility toward evacuees also spilled out during an emotional community meeting in west Houston on Aug. 30, when a packed crowd of 1,700 demanded that Mayor Bill White send the Louisianans home. The west Houston area has been housing the majority of evacuees, and has been particularly hard hit by the increase in homicides.

Houston's Police Patrolmen's Union, which is in a nasty political fight with Police Chief Harold Hurtt, has put up billboards that portray the city as unsafe.

In that climate, many gun dealers report strong sales and maintain that customers are citing an evacuee-fueled crime rate as the reason they are choosing to arm themselves.

"When crime rates shoot up, business goes up. It's that simple," said Art May, 50, owner of the Republic Arms shop. "Right now, with the news talking about crime being high in Houston because of all the Katrina people, people who have been putting off getting a gun are finally coming in. These aren't people looking for high-dollar hunting rifles. They're looking for weapons of self-defense."

May said he believed gun buying had peaked, because his sales, which were up 50% at one point, had slowed in recent weeks. Some gun dealers questioned whether there ever was a trend, saying that although sales were strong just after the storm, they quickly trailed off.

But at Jim Pruett's Guns & Ammo, in a strip mall on the northwest outskirts of town, the staff said business was booming, thanks in part to Pruett's ad.

The store has always sold its gear with a sense of humor: Its website plays "Bad Boys," the theme from the television show "Cops," and advises, "Be polite and courteous, but have a plan to KILL everybody you meet." The walls are lined with pistol-grip shotguns and semiautomatic rifles, and glass cases full of oversize knives and handguns for seemingly every taste â€” from $400 pistols to a massive tiger-striped Desert Eagle for $1,600.

During the lunch hour on Friday, Pruett, 62, played a recording of his radio spot and sounded quite pleased with himself. "God, that's great," he said.

As he sat behind the counter, beneath coils of ornamental razor wire along the ceiling, he said he did not consider his commercial racist and had no regrets.

"The storm washed up a lot of people who live off crime and getting the loot," he said. "The people who are here and have gotten jobs, that's a wonderful thing. They're Houstonians now. But the people who are still unemployed a year later, who are just sitting around doing nothing, they're 'Katricians.' That's the way I see it."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
miguel.bustillo@latimes.com"

txinvestigator · Post by **txinvestigator** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 11:04 am

Is that Pruett from "Stevens and Pruett"?

oilman · Post by **oilman** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 11:13 am

Yes it is. You can catch him on FM 97.5 in Houston every morning.

DaveT · Post by **DaveT** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 12:31 pm

What's the hullabaloo all about ?

Sounds logical to me.

I don't think the gun store owner is being racist, just a realist who is acknowledging the current situation in Houston like it is and speaking his mind.

Part of the problem is how 'politically correct' everything in this country has become in the last several years. No one wants to hear the truth.

Truth is that black folks and black leadership in New Orleans failed. When a lot of the folks from New Orleans were relocated, they were used to a life of government corruption, handouts and crime. Now they play the race card when they can't get the the same level of handouts elsewhere, or when police in their new communities of residence crack down on them.

I don't look at it as being racist for citizens of Houston to say they are tired of it and are arming themselves for protection. I look it as good common sense.

CaptDave · Post by **CaptDave** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 12:39 pm

And on Monday mornings (not sure if it's only on Mondays) they have Jim Pruett, Bryan Shannon and Mr. Hoffner on "Defending America" from about 7:30am to 8:30am which is all about CHL, defensive use of firearms and, well, Defending America. It's also pretty humorous at times

Mithras61 · Post by **Mithras61** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 12:57 pm

DaveT wrote:What's the hullabaloo all about ?

Sounds logical to me.

I don't think the gun store owner is being racist, just a realist who is acknowledging the current situation in Houston like it is and speaking his mind.

Well, the hullabaloo is that the criminals are squawking about the people arming themselves, but it doesn't garner much sympathy when they call us anti-crime, so they fall back on the old tried & true lie about it being racism. Main-stream media buys this crapola, and we get to hear about how racist we are because we want to protect us & ours from the criminals.

The problem with his ad is that it lumps the criminals in with all the other evacuees. The reason this is a problem is that not ALL of the evacuees are criminals. On the other hand, Houston IS seeing a bump in the crime rate that (according to HPD) can be directly attributed to the evacuees being here. I bet if you look at New Orleans crime figures, they are having a comparable DROP in crime. Are these people SERIOUSLY claiming that all of HPD is racist? Considering the make-up of the department, I find it difficult to believe that the entire force is, and the old "a few bad apples" routine doesn't account for the uptick by an extra 20% like HPD claims...

Glockamolie · Post by **Glockamolie** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 1:20 pm

If you're not in the listening area, you can catch it on streaming audio 6-10 am weekdays for free here:

http://www.streamaudio.com/stations/pla ... &filename=

I listen all day at work. They have great guests on there. It's good talk radio.

HighVelocity · Post by **HighVelocity** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 2:16 pm

Any time there is a sudden surge in population, there's going to be a surge in crime. You cannot change that. When 100k people show up with nothing what are you going to do? It's highly unlikely that there's 100k jobs waiting, housing etc.
Then you've got the criminals that are well known to their local PD but are suddenly unknown and on the gravy train.

The entire situation has been handled poorly since before Katrina even made landfall.

Remember, a large portion of humanity does NOT have the mental capacity (or desire) to think and do for themselves. As long as the ride is free and there's no leadership, they'll stay on the train until the track runs out.

The best we can do is be vigilant and keep our guard up. Notice things, don't allow yourself to get cornered, etc.
Finally, be prepared to do what needs to be done to preserve your safety and that of your loved ones.

Paladin · Post by **Paladin** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 2:54 pm

Looking at the percentages, CHL applications are up 30%!

Makes sense after Katrina and Rita, but I wasn't expecting that big of a jump.

Liberty · Post by **Liberty** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 4:40 pm

Paladin wrote:Looking at the percentages, CHL applications are up 30%!

Makes sense after Katrina and Rita, but I wasn't expecting that big of a jump.

I don't know about Katrina, but Rita woke me up. Miles of backed up traffic with thousands of desperate people. I felt real vulnerable for me and my family. I knew we need more protection, and that if things went bad that the police weren't going to be able to help.

Madsmiley · Post by **Madsmiley** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 5:32 pm

Ive bought a couple of guns from Jim's shop.Anytime Im nearby, I stop in just to visit..Everyone may not agree with him or his antics,but he does stand up and speak his mind..

As for New Orleans..We went this weekend and had a great time..NOPD is doing a fantastic job of making the out of towners feel safe and secure.There was a very large show of force in the quarter area as well as several plain clothes officers.Cant say enough about what a great job those guys are doing over there..

If any of you liked visiting NOLA in the past,now would be a great time to go..Not all,but alot of the undesirables are here in Houston still and most everyone there is trying to contribute to the rebuilding of their city.95% of the French Quarter is back in business,and hotels are very affordable,and the crowds werent that bad..My only complaint was that crawfish aren't in season until November.

jbirds1210 · Post by **jbirds1210** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 6:03 pm

Madsmiley wrote:If any of you liked visiting NOLA in the past,now would be a great time to go

I will never visit New Orleans again....if I am forced there on business for some reason, it will be as quick as humanly possible. I would refuse a trip during hurricane season.

I have no desire to put any of my money toward funding the government of Willie and his Anti 2a stunts. New Orleans WAS a beautiful town, but I have spent my last night there.
Jason

Madsmiley · Post by **Madsmiley** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 6:22 pm

jbirds1210 wrote:
Madsmiley wrote:If any of you liked visiting NOLA in the past,now would be a great time to go

I will never visit New Orleans again....if I am forced there on business for some reason, it will be as quick as humanly possible. I would refuse a trip during hurricane season.

I have no desire to put any of my money toward funding the government of Willie and his Anti 2a stunts. New Orleans WAS a beautiful town, but I have spent my last night there.
Jason

I dont really care for the way the elected government handled the situation,but I cant hold it againt the hard working people that are there and working hard to rebuild their business,homes,and lives..Besides..If NOLA get back to its former glory,maybe the crackheads will all go home..

Diode · Post by **Diode** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 6:39 am

Liberty wrote:
Paladin wrote:Looking at the percentages, CHL applications are up 30%!

Makes sense after Katrina and Rita, but I wasn't expecting that big of a jump.
I don't know about Katrina, but Rita woke me up. Miles of backed up traffic with thousands of desperate people. I felt real vulnerable for me and my family. I knew we need more protection, and that if things went bad that the police weren't going to be able to help.

Exactly the same thing for me. The next spring after Rita I was at Academy looking at hand guns and asked why the gun case was half empty. The elderly saleman said durring the Hurricane people flocked in to buy handguns

shootthesheet · Post by **shootthesheet** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 9:25 am

jbirds1210 wrote:
Madsmiley wrote:If any of you liked visiting NOLA in the past,now would be a great time to go

I will never visit New Orleans again....if I am forced there on business for some reason, it will be as quick as humanly possible. I would refuse a trip during hurricane season.

I have no desire to put any of my money toward funding the government of Willie and his Anti 2a stunts. New Orleans WAS a beautiful town, but I have spent my last night there.
Jason

I feel the same way. It is like the U.S. giving aid to people in countries that are anti-American before and after they receive our tax money. If they want our help they should change the government and stop biting the hand that feeds them. And until that happens I won't even stop in the area for gas unless I have to. I look at it as motivation to not allow corruption to be the norm.