A Pizza Delivery Driver's View of Gun Control

By George Combs II
thegame@cinci.rr.com

November 5, 2003

KeepAndBearArms.com -- I have been a longtime advocate of unrestricted firearms ownership. I believe that the Second Amendment is clear, despite the contention of gun control advocates. Moreover, the writings of the Founders of this nation are explicit. They intended America to be a free society, and one where the right to keep and bear arms was not to be infringed for any reason.

In one sentence, I believe that gun control creates needless victims.

According to the Bureau of Labor statistics, pizza delivery is ranked #5 on the list of occupations with the highest mortality rates. (The list can be found here: http://money.cnn.com/2003/10/13/pf/dangerousjobs/index.htm?cnn=yes.) My occupation is right behind timber cutters, fishers, pilots, and structural metal workers. Incidentally, law enforcement officers and firefighters didn't crack the top ten. Does this not speak volumes?

On Wednesday, November 4, 2003, I submitted an article to KeepAndBearArms.com's Newslinks entitled: "Pizza deliveryman gunned down at west Phoenix apartments." As the editor stated, Domino's Pizza indeed has a strict policy of no armed drivers. He used the word "disarmed" and said "Domino's has blood on their hands." I can't argue with that. In fact, not only does Domino's have such a policy, but all the major chains, plus most of the regional chains and 'mom & pop'-type stores, too.

The official Domino's policy concerning robbers is: 'Don't provoke, don't resist.' What choice do we have, pray tell? This is a job that pays a low base wage; a lot of our money is in tips and mileage reimbursement. No one wants to get hurt or killed over a pizza and a few measly dollars, so drivers will readily give them up. But there are criminals and would-be criminals who simply won't be appeased by that. They want to hurt and kill. It really is that simple.

Domino's says we should do callbacks on every single suspicious order. But at high-volume stores where the phone is ringing off the hook and we're told to get the orders delivered and get back quickly to the store to take more pizzas to customers, callbacks aren't really feasible. Most drivers, myself included, have cell phones, but you still can't tell what a customer's intentions are. I discussed the armed drivers issue with a former manager some time ago, and he said was opposed to it because it would scare customers to have a driver with a gun standing on their front porch. Mind you, this was in a city with a high crime area. When the Rodney King incident hit the news, there was a riot there that night. A police car was overturned and three people were killed. Two drivers came back to the store with damage to their cars -- one with a shattered windshield because someone had thrown a cinder block through it. Thankfully, neither was hurt. And the manager was worried about scared customers? Besides, who's talking about drivers strapping a gun around their waists a'la Clint Eastwood in those old spaghetti westerns? Concealed carry would give drivers a proven defensive tool while not attracting attention. That's the idea of carrying concealed weapons. 

Avni Dobratiqi didn't see his killer. And even if he had, I doubt the outcome would have been any different. The same goes for people like Barry Schrader, Precious Canter, El Said Abed, Robin Ballard, Nabeel Siddiqui and Brion Barrett. These people were pizza delivery drivers who were killed, and none of them stood a chance against their assailants. 

I don't want to become a statistic, and I don't want to see another innocent human being become a statistic needlessly.

In talking to other drivers, many of whom say they support concealed carry, I've learned many don't want to carry one themselves. One of the major reasons was that carrying a concealed gun would be "uncomfortable." Hold the phone! If you think carrying a gun under your shirt is uncomfortable, realize that it's a lot more comfortable than getting shot, stabbed or hit in the face with a baseball bat. 

There is one truth about a free society: A free society is one where the lawful have the greatest possible advantage over the lawless. Or at least a fighting chance.

It's high time people learn it.

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