It was a great disappointment for me to read Tom Casady’s Local View on the concealed carry issue (“More guns in Lincoln will only create more problems,” May 2). His lack of support is very typical of a chief of police found anywhere in our country who has a politician for a boss.

Let’s face it: Mayor Seng can help our chief get things for his department and officers, or not.

Concerning the survey performed by one of Casady’s officers, I believe those results are flawed. It has been found that surveys given by law enforcement agencies to law enforcement personnel are biased. Why? Possible retribution.

He also mentions that handguns get turned on their owners and that accidents and mistakes do happen. In the chief’s line of thinking, then, we should no longer allow people to get driver’s licenses. Driving should be banned; cars kill people, people are injured in accidents and some are maimed for life. Why is someone behind the wheel of a 2,000- to 3,000-pound vehicle to be trusted when we are more likely to be killed, injured or maimed by a car than by a person who carries a gun for protection!

Most police officers throughout our country never fire their weapons in the line of duty. They are brandished a lot, though, and most often that’s all that’s needed. Studies have shown that citizens who carry have done the same. They have brandished their weapons and saved their lives or that of a loved one or stopped a crime without firing a shot.

For those citizens who are against concealed carry, remember this: You are more likely to be killed by an acquaintance or family member than by a stranger. In fact, everyone is.

Who will be applying for concealed carry permits? According to records of other states that allow concealed carry, your typical red-blooded American, both men and women. From doctors and lawyers to teachers and business owners to professionals of all kinds of businesses and members of all trades. Our retired and active military carry and security personal and retired law enforcement officers as well. They are co-workers, people you attend church with, fellow parents at the PTA, members of civic organizations or clubs you belong to. They are moms and dads, aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters and, yes, even some grandparents.

You cannot depend on the police to protect you. Unless they live in your house, share your bed or socialize with you 100 percent of the time, it is impossible for them to do so. That’s why the U.S. Supreme Court ruled years ago, that it is not the responsibility of law enforcement to protect you. Nor do they have to.

This ruling has stood fast and has been supported by state supreme courts throughout the country. The police are not a proactive force; rather, they are a reactionary force, reacting to crimes committed. Their presence on the street may deter some crime, but most often the criminal just waits for them to pass and then carries on with business.

Another example of their inability to protect you is the countless numbers of women with court issued restraining orders killed every year throughout the country by stalkers, ex-husbands and ex-boyfriends. Simply put, you are on your own. We all are.

I think the greatest disappointment to me in the chief’s remarks is that generally he paints a picture of the average citizen of Lincoln as an idiot, incapable and reckless. It is easy for the chief and law officers to say no to concealed carry. Since most carry off duty, they have the means to protect themselves and those they love, which they want to deny you and your family. They are safe because they have their weapons. They don’t want you to have that same safe feeling they enjoy. They don’t want you to have the same chance that they have of not ending up a victim.

Your life and the lives of your family are not as valuable as theirs. In fact, if Lincoln is so safe, the chief should implement a policy for all officers, including him, to house their firearms at the station when they are off duty and, if they come across a situation of lawlessness, they use their cell phone, as they want you and I to do.

Yes, I am disappointed in the chief, because he seems to think his family has more value than yours or mine and is worth protecting. Your family and mine are not as valuable, and you and I should not be able to protect them.

In closing, I am more disappointed and inclined not to like Mayor Seng who thinks that she is more intelligent and knows more then all the legislators combined who passed this law. And that Lincoln is her town and not ours. I may or may not apply for a concealed carry permit, but I think I should have that option.

Reis is a Vietnam War combat veteran.