Posted on 07/01/2012 8:25:31 PM PDT by DogByte6RER
“Would You Take Away Guns From Law-Abiding Citizens?” Open Poll Causes Stir In American COP Magazine
Will You Do It?
I’ve known anti-gun cops, who seriously said things like, ‘They have no right to own a gun, it’s my job to protect them. If they have guns, it’s just a danger to me!’
I ike to think my “real” job is as the editor of our sister publication, American Handgunner magazine. A publisher wears many hats, but what I really like to do is write, edit and interact with readers. What I’ve never forgotten is we, you and I, are the same — I just happen to have this job. I spent a long time as a cop in San Diego, and an even longer lifetime so far as a shooter and gun owner. I (and parent company FMG) feel strongly about the right of law-abiding Americans to own firearms, for any reason they like; from hunting, plinking, collecting, reloading, you-name-it. But most assuredly, we believe Americans have the right to own firearms for personal protection. This brings me to a sore subject for many Handgunner readers.
I get regular reader mail asking essentially the same question: “Roy, as a former cop, do you think today’s younger cops would actually try to take guns away from law-abiding citizens, if they were told to do so by their leaders?” Keep in mind, real people and regular people just like us — not crazies — seriously worry about this.
Since I’ve sort of “crossed-over” both sides of the fence being both a law enforcer and law-abiding citizen gun owner, I can see what they’re talking about. I’ve known anti-gun cops, who seriously said things like, “They have no right to own a gun, it’s my job to protect them. If they have guns, it’s just a danger to me!” You might know someone like that too. And certainly, there are politicians out there who think the same way; and those very politicians often appoint police chiefs. Since sheriffs are elected, they can serve as a bit of a buffer on this topic. They more readily serve their voting constituent than the politically appointed chief does.
So, I’ll be blunt and ask you: Would you personally, go out and confiscate firearms from law abiding citizens — even if it goes against your personal opinion regarding the constitutional rights of citizens — and do it on the order of an administrative leader of your agency? Would you put your foot down and say, “No, that’s not legal, it’s not right, and I won’t do it” — all the while risking being disciplined or fired? Or would you simply do your duty, as it were? “I was only following orders!” And, if you don’t think it can happen, just look at New Orleans after the hurricane, when the city cops did that very thing. They also lost a lawsuit brought by the NRA in the aftermath. It was found the city of New Orleans did not have the right to confiscate firearms in the “interest of public safety.”
I was asked to write about this a long while ago, back when I was still a cop. I wrote the article and stated: I would not do it and, yes, I’d risk the consequences. I signed my name to the article, and my agency knew it. I also said I didn’t feel the vast majority of my LE peers would participate if they felt they were given an unlawful order to confiscate guns. But today? I honestly don’t know what would happen. What’s your opinion? You tell me.
I would hope.
That and a compliant citizenry is all they need. Just look to California, Chicago, DC, NY.
If the NSA thinks all PhD physicists are issued a baryon number inverter — or that such a thing even exists — then we’ve got way bigger problems with national security than I thought.
The Second Amendment...
America's Only Homeland Security!
Be Ever Vigilant!
I think someone is yanking someone’s chain.............
The rising number of mistaken “swat raids” and other arrest sweeps by various LEO’s in this nation suggests a rising paranoia by our government concerning the population. I get the sense that they feel there are extreme Tea party groups everywhere poised to spark a revolution and that they they are trying to get “one step ahaed” of the “rightist curve”.(would that there were more minutemen types “on the ready) If there weren’t the potential for lost lives( including a lot of shot up dogs as well), one could almost laugh at the number of times these “sweeps” have ended up with nothing but egg on the faces of the LEO’s involved.
I could just see a new movie short: From Obama Productions: The “NEW” KEYSTONE KOPS IN: FASCIST FOLLIES
Hey, blackie, good to see you again.
Oops! Misread your post. Semi autos are not legal to hunt with. Perfectly legal for CCW and all other purposes.
4th. I will confiscate any weapon I find. You have a gun? You have a permit? Your gun is mine. I’ll let you spend a few thousand dollars with the judge to get your gun back if you really want it that bad. It doesn’t cost me a thing to confiscate your weapon, but it will cost you lots of time and lots of money to get it back. If need to depending on the weapon I may add charges even if I have to make them up to keep you away from the gun.
Already happened to me. I’m supposed to get my weapon back about the middle of Sept. If is hasn’t been “lost”
I haven’t read all comments. This made me so mad I posted before reading anything.
Any of the bootlickers took up for this “gentleman” yet?
And that is exactly why people don’t like cops. In a just society, this guy would be thrown in jail for abusing the trust placed in him for a long time.
The only words that come to mind regarding this “officer of the law” is that he’s a fascist punk that has no business hiding behind a badge! People like him are precisely what has led to the ‘it’s us against them’ mentality that prevales.
Their depts would be better served, as well as the public, to weed these authoritarian, socially disfunctional idiots off the force. It’s idiots like this that get the good officers killed!
I had to special order my copy some 5 or 6 years ago.
>>I am not worried about individual cops, most couldn’t care less, but their superiors have political leanings of gun confiscation and the average cop wants to keep his job.<<
Don’t you have the home addresses of the supervisors at your local sheriffs dept and PD? Do you have the mayors and all elected city officials home addresses? If you don’t, you should have them.
Then make that fact known to the officials who you think might slip and actually be stupid enough to order weapons confiscations of all civilian possessed weapons. Ask them if they are actually going to abandon their families and report to their city office locations after issuing such an order.
Real estate brokers and agents can help you with the addresses or try http://www.whitepages.com/
I still have my PA hunting license from 1963 when Dad was attending the Army War College at Carlisle Barracks. That prohibition on selfloaders was in the hunting laws booklet. Then.
I don’t hunt much anymore and my .45 automatic wouldn’t be much of a gamegetter anyway. But at the time I wanted a Browning A-5 for Christmas worse than anything; Dad gave me a Remington 870 which I still have. Loved the Browning but the 870 is more practical IMO. Did shoot a lot of skeet with a borrowed Remington Model 11, almost the same gun as the A-5.
Took me 2 years, 3 judges and $17,000 to recover a $500 single-action revolver in just such a circumstance. I went the distance and got it handed to me disassembled 3 days before it was going into the chop saw.
This is what is wrong with most cops today. They forget they're supposed to 'serve and protect' and instead think they're 'the law'.
The sad fact is EVERY DAY there are cops in court who did something even though the law does not allow it, and simply excused it by saying “the judge will sort it out.”
There is no lawful order training for cops. Just us vs them.
There are folks that collect old hunting licenses, quite a market I guess. That said, I’ve always liked Browning designed shotguns and even if you can’t hunt with it there are still plenty of reasons to have a semi auto shotgun handy.
What’s incredible is that BP agents like Brian Terry and in some instances people in Afghanistan are going up against some of the most dangerous people on the planet with bean bag rounds and rubber bullets [in known war/danger zones] while these idiot wannabes show up at suburban homesteads in full tactical gear.
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