Houstonian Jim Pruett, owner of Jim Pruett’s Guns & Ammo, or–as he prefers to call it–your anti-terrorist headquarters–has a radio ad that warns Houston’s citizens to arm themselves because the “Katricians”–Katrina evacuees from New Orleans–are going to attack if they do not get more free rent.
“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,” Pruett says in his ad. The recent surge in the Houston homicide rate has been attributed by the Houston police to Katrina evacuees. And while there is no doubt they are responsible for some of it, the increase in Houston’s violent crime rate had already begun before Katrina came along. To make matters worse, many evacuees wound up in poor, unsafe Houston neighborhoods.
Pruett is no newcomer to stirring things up. He co-hosts a morning radio show, “Pruett & Shannon,” and hosts a second show, “Back Talk,” in the afternoon. His biography states: “To Jim, happiness is his family, his faith and his membership in the NRA.”
Texas officials say that applications for concealed weapons permits were up statewide: 60,328 from January to September 1, as compared with 46,298 for the same period in 2005.
