FVK,
I'm sorry to see that you're leaving. I don't necessarily agree with your statement that all gunowners at TFL are hateful towards LEOs.
Your statement:
"I now see how the general gun owner looks at us. They are not my ally, they hate me as much as any gang banger or dope dealer hates me.
Sir, I am the "general gun owner" and I don't hate you. In fact, I almost became you, in the form of a Tempe Arizona police officer. However, I decided to pursue my interests in the business world. Sometimes I wished had continued down that path (other professions put up with lots of bull too).
I believe what you are seeing posted here in many cases is fear. Fear that our RIGHTS will be taken away. Also that when that happens LE will run amuck.
I would tend to agree. How do I know? Because I have many, many friends in LE. Many of which were HS and College classmates yet were transformed once they finished the academy.
Many became hard charging "I will kick anyone's teeth in" fanatical. I have one friend who I showed how to shoot (he had no prior firearms experience) go from learning from me to saying I have no need for a weapon!?!
That is bull****.
I grew up hunting, had my own rifle at 11, my own handgun at 18 and I still outshoot and out-think that poor SOB. He doesn't understand Jeff Cooper's combat triad. His gun handling has become second rate. I out perfom him and most other LEO in every aspect of firearms use.
He's since changed his tune for the most part. However, let me tell you if he ever came to take my guns he would not succeed. I'm not gushing my bravado here. I'm just stating the facts.
I have just as much right to my firearms as you do. So long as I don't act irresponsibly. Wouldn't you agree?
I also believe that part of Roscoe's rant is why can off duty officers have access to personally purchased hardware that the average citizen cannot.
Let's use the "pre-ban" definition for a AR-15. We can no longer buy new 30 round magazines manufactured after a particular date, flash hiders, particular hardware, etc. etc. Boy those features are much more deadly!!
Yet John Q. Law as an off duty officer (yes, I understand non-civilian) can buy however many he wants and use them however he wants (i.e. not necessarily in connection with his job).
Now obviously you need a vest. I don't think any reasonable person should ask a LEO to work without one. Roscoe, please explain this one.
Would it be fair for me to say that all LEO are homosexual child molesters? STOP!!! I would say such a statement is PATENTLY FALSE. We all know this.
However, I know (knew) a Tempe Police Officer who was eventually arrested by his own (former) department and formally charged with 94 counts of child molestation and suspected of molesting countless others.
Unfortunately his accuser, a 14 year old male was trajically killed before the trail. As you know, without an accuser to face there is no case. This cretin was set free with a clean record. Look around he's probably working LE right now.
The point of this long post is that as Roscoe said "LE are human too." Each and every LEO, YOU included have many of the same human failings as the rest of us. You experience jealosy, envy, hatred (or equivalent), etc., etc.
As such you should not as an off duty general officer (SWAT excluded) be treated differently than the rest of us. Keep your riot, assault, whatever you want to call them guns at the department for use on the job. Not at your personal disposal.
Personally, I don't think an AR-15 is as deadly (whatever that means) as my Remington 760 pump 30-06. I can take out things at much greater ranges and penetrate cars much more easily. I guess others see it differently.
Paul, my last statement is that if I ever see you or one of your brother officers in danger and physically overpowered or outgunned by an obvious A**hole with evil criminal intent, I would without hesitation, risk my un-body armored hide (no matter what my panicked spincter says) to help out.
However, I'm afraid that If I did the officer in question would likely try to shoot me. Or conversely, the department would charge me with something or other after its over.
Give us a break. We're not all bad. Just human.
