How safe are our malls on Long Island ? (Glen Cove, Sullivan: felony, lawyers)

[nancy thereader]

It is almost sacrilegious to ask this with the terrible tragedy in Omaha so recent , but how safe are we in our malls ? In Israel, before you enter a mall, you are checked the way you are when you are in an airport. Is that what we need to do? Do you feel safe when you shop?

[Dedalus]

Originally Posted by nancy thereader

In Israel, before you enter a mall, you are checked the way you are when you are in an airport. Is that what we need to do? Do you feel safe when you shop?

Israel is in a bit of a different situation.

Probably, sooner or later, some maniac is going to do that here. Whether you think that justifies waiting on lots of lines and having to pass through metal detectors is a matter of personal choice.

I'd vote 'no'.

[sean sean sean sean]

I would say DEFINITELY stay out of the malls. It's common knowledge that American Eagle and GAP customers are some thorough killers...and don't think Charlotte Russe clientele aren't quick to pull a trigger neither. Just last week I was copping a g-pack of boxer briefs at JC Penny's and saw a Dominican kid get stuck with an icepick over some Churro drama...maybe it was astronaut ice cream, I dunno....best to wear a vest and keep your money straight. The mall is harder than Rikers Island these days, no joke.

[ClarkStreetKid]

Malls are pretty safe but are popular with criminals as distracted shoppers with their arms full and who feel safe make wonderful victims. Your best first line of defense is awareness. Stay alert, if something or someone doesn't seem right don't ignore it. Use common sense, park in a well lit area close to pedestrian traffic, when going back to your car stay alert, be careful while loading packages into your car as this seems to be a favorite time for a badguy to act. A FYI, there is a certain big box retailer that is very popular with the criminal set especially this time of year.

BTW If I could recommend a few books for people to read, the first is a must, "The Gift of Fear" by Gavin de Becker and Strong on Defense by Sanford Strong if you can find it.
A third option is Tom Patire's Personal Protection Handbook: Absolutely Everything You Need to Know to KeepYourself, Your Family, and Your Assets Safe . These are not how to fight books.

[Walter Greenspan]

Originally Posted by nancy thereader

... (B)ut how safe are we in our malls ?

As all the malls on LI are in a gun-free zone (meaning that only the bad guys will have guns, the good guys will be defenseless), we're not safe, not at all:


According to an article published today (Thursday, December 6) by John Lott, "The horrible tragedy at the Westroads Mall in Omaha, Neb. received a lot of attention Wednesday and Thursday. It should have. Eight people were killed, and five were wounded."

The article continues, "But despite the massive news coverage, none of the media coverage, at least by 10 a.m. Thursday, mentioned this central fact: Yet another attack occurred in a gun-free zone."

For the complete article, "Media Coverage of Mall Shooting Fails to Reveal Mall's 'Gun-Free-Zone Status'", please go to:

John Lott's website


John Lott is the author of the book, Freedomnomics upon which this piece is based and is a Senior Research Scientist at the University of Maryland.

[ClarkStreetKid]

Outside of bars gun free zones are an incredibly stupid idea.

[Smash255]

Originally Posted by Walter Greenspan

As all the malls on LI are in a gun-free zone (meaning that only the bad guys will have guns, the good guys will be defenseless), we're not safe, not at all:


According to an article published today (Thursday, December 6) by John Lott, "The horrible tragedy at the Westroads Mall in Omaha, Neb. received a lot of attention Wednesday and Thursday. It should have. Eight people were killed, and five were wounded."

The article continues, "But despite the massive news coverage, none of the media coverage, at least by 10 a.m. Thursday, mentioned this central fact: Yet another attack occurred in a gun-free zone."

For the complete article, "Media Coverage of Mall Shooting Fails to Reveal Mall's 'Gun-Free-Zone Status'", please go to:

John Lott's website


John Lott is the author of the book, Freedomnomics upon which this piece is based and is a Senior Research Scientist at the University of Maryland.

Why doesn't mr. lott care how this lunatic got his hands on a gun in the first place?

[Walter Greenspan]

Originally Posted by Smash255

Why doesn't mr. lott care how this lunatic got his hands on a gun in the first place?

Because the more important factor is that the mall, like Virginia Tech, was in a gun-free zone, and thus there was no 'fear factor' present that would make the lunatic with a gun go elsewhere.

No matter how difficult a state or local gov't makes it to own a firearm, the bad guys will manage to get their hands on a gun (in this case, the lunatic got his rifle from his father's/step-father's collection), leaving the good guys, who obey the law, defenseless against a lunatic with a gun.

Within the past few years, Australia put in place a very strict national gun control regime, and soon after the murder and armed felony rates zoomed higher, because, as always happens, the bad guys will have guns and the good guys are now unarmed.

One of the first things that Stalin and Hitler did when taking power was to take the guns from their citizens, thereby rendering these citizens harmless against state thugs (secret police, etc.) and allowing these dictators to be in total control.

Currently, the Supreme Court is looking at the Washington, DC gun control law. The general belief among lawyers is that the Washington, DC gun control law, as well as similar laws such as the Sullivan Law in NYS, will be ruled unconstitutional.

(The original impetus for the Sullivan Law was to keep guns out of the hands of the newly arrived Italian Catholic immigrant, who were thought to be all criminals by the WASP power structure.)

[Glad2BHere]

Anything can happen anywhere, bottom line. At the mall, the dr's office, in traffic, in your car, in the subway, in the supermarket, in schools, at the bank. You can't live in a bubble due to fear.

Just like the man who was shot and killed on the Cross Island coming home from dropping off his daughter from school. Or the woman in Glen Cove in her new home in a wealthy gated community, who was savagely killed by her neighbor's son.

I won't be worried at the mall b/c anything can happen anywhere. So either worry about everywhere or no where, b/c those risks exist everyday.

[Walter Greenspan]

Originally Posted by Glad2BHere

Anything can happen anywhere ...

True, but the statistics show that there is a greater probability of murder and armed felony in areas where the good guys have been disarmed by their beneficent gov't.