Sam1911 said:
This is where I run the risk of offending every cop in the world, but I'll speak the truth. The fact that you draw a paycheck based on your willful decision to go into situations where a gun might be necessary makes your inherent right to those weapons NOT ONE BIT MORE VALID than your neighbor for whom the violence may come to him, in his home, based on no willful act of his.
So "but I might need those guns" is a horrid thing to say for your own sake when your neighbor is being disarmed.
...
None of us truly WANTS the police "underarmed." However, if that is a tool to achieve a higher end, than sometimes such sacrifices are warranted. I am sorry, truly, if you find yourself in a bad way due to such efforts -- but I'm even sorrier for the non-sworn citizen who's arms are limited by his government.
Surely, if he can make due with 10 round mags, etc. -- then so can you.
A couple of quick counterpoints:
1) I'm not trying to disarm my neighbor. I'm trying to ensure that all of the good folks in our society have the right to keep arms for the defense of themselves, their family, and their community.
2) In my fight to ensure that we all have gun rights, I haven't found that the most effectual way to ensure those rights is to make sure that we disarm more people. Is it fair that police can have stuff that citizens can't? No, it isn't... it wasn't fair during the last AWB, either, and I was not an officer for part of that ban period.
3) We need to fight for our rights. I've been working years for that cause, and have dedicated what literally must be over 100 hours of time to this cause since the Sandy Hook incident alone. Why not focus our efforts on stopping these laws, rather than focusing on what appears to be thinly-veiled punitive measures against law enforcement officers?
4) The chiefs don't care. When we asked to carry AR-15's as patrol rifles, they didn't like it. When we asked to carry more suitable weapons for the job(s) we were doing, they didn't like it. They don't care, and they won't change. The only victims in this issue are all of the rest of us (police or not).
5) I already carry a duty weapon with a 10-round magazine. I own my own AR-15, which I carry as a patrol rifle, and lets just say that I'm already well set on magazines. So, this is really just a statement I'm trying to make philosophically in saying that we don't gain gun rights by trying to further restrict gun rights.
Skylerbone said:
I am squarely against abortion and gun control which is why I will never work for Planned Parenthood or the Brady Campaign. I don't traffic in narcotics to support my local churches and I don't see how any officer anywhere can work for an agency enforcing laws contradictory to the Constitution in good faith. No, I'm just the armed messenger here to haul you off to jail to await your hearing doesn't cut it. Men of integrity don't assist the enemy, they would sooner find another line of work.
I'm not sure I entirely understand what you're talking about, or if your comment is direct towards me or someone else. But, the job I have does not place me at odds with the constitution that I swore to defend. I'm not unjustly arresting people, or unjustly hauling innocent people off to jail. I'm arresting criminals for real crimes, and spending much of my own time advocating for the rights of our citizens when I'm not at work. My job isn't to serve as an assistant to a politician, or a private mercenary squad for the government... my job is to serve the citizens of my jurisdiction by enforcing law and order within the bounds of the US Constitution. The oath I swore required no more of me than that.
I started another thread in this section of the forum last night (seeking to amend the Colorado constitution). So far that thread has received no replies, though I believe it is an idea that is very well in-line with protecting the rights of Coloradans. If you are questioning my stance on this issue, or if you somehow believe that I'm coming for your guns, you might want to review my other posts on this forum.