OPINION: Unnecessary amount of armed citizens in public areas

The following letter was originally addressed to Coeur d’Alene Mayor Steve Widmyer and shared with The Press. It is the opinion of the writer, Zachary Miller, and is not an official statement by the Air Force and/or the Air National Guard.

Mr. Mayor of CDA,

Hello, sir. My name is Zachary Miller, and I am writing to voice my concern with the current situation that I am seeing develop in my beloved home town area. While my military service has taken me on a path that has led me to depart from being a resident of CDA, I still regularly visit my family and friends that remain there. Recently, I had to make the difficult decision to cancel my next visit due to fears that I have for my own wellbeing and safety. I am a supporter of 2nd Amendment rights, however, “a well-regulated militia” is not what I am observing. I see fearful American citizens arming up with overwhelmingly disproportionate arms and people to combat a perceived threat that would also be composed of fellow Americans. While I maintain the faith that most attendants were motivated by good intentions, without effective training, those intentions are simply gasoline on a fire. I could identify some individuals as veterans and could possibly trust a few to be responsible, but most of the people I’ve observed are very likely untrained in anything other than shooting accuracy and basic gun safety.

There is most likely a gap in knowledge about additional critical considerations like appropriate use of force and collateral damage considerations. Without effective training in appropriate use of force, it is very likely that more incidents similar to the root cause of this social unrest would be repeated. Without effective training in concerns with collateral damage, it is very likely that a well intentioned application against a legitimate threat could lead to more incidental damage than could ever justify the level of force used. Without knowledge of these subjects, I fear that any threat that may materialize would be met with a hailstorm of bullets from multiple angles that would, in the best case scenario, cause more damage than would be economically reasonable for the small business that everyone had meant to protect. At worst, it could result in a mass casualty event that would overload the local hospital.

Outside the lens of race, both the protesters and the armed citizens speak to a shared issue in the city: a strong distrust in the government’s ability to provide safety, security, and justice to all citizens equally. While the protesters are directly advocating for law enforcement across the nation to be held more accountable for their actions, the armed citizens are indirectly voicing to me their belief that law enforcement are unable to accomplish their core functions to serve and protect and that the only way to find that is to take the law onto one’s own untrained hands.

Despite the current national dialogue, I still hold the faith that our law enforcement are our certified and employed technical experts in maintaining law and order. The protesting voices should be listened to and addressed, and a means for well intentioned citizens to volunteer for an educating and certified process to augment local security measures in times of need should be implemented.

I have chosen to also include several news station contacts that I was able to find online to increase the likelihood that this message would find the means to reach someone that can help lead a relevant discussion on how the root issues that may seem to not affect a small town far removed from the more directly impacted communities shaken by George Floyd’s murder. In the meantime, I’ll continue to wait, watch, and pray for the time that I can return to the home that I love with peace of mind in regards to personal security.

With utmost regards,

Zachary Miller