Disaster + public fear + unscrupulous politicians who can justify anything...or really don't have to because they're invincible in elections = police state.
+1. Also, FEAR of being bankrupted by medical costs and FEAR of not having retirement income are driving us towards a socialist state.....what's that Franklin quote about liberty and security?
a pistol like the Beretta M9 would be favored down there.
But I thought "military caliber" weapons were illegal in Mexico; oh wait, now I get it.
The OP:
I almost made the mistake of saying there's nothing special about the military or police. That's not true: they are very special in pledging their lives to serve. However, as special as that commitment is, there's nothing special about their abilities, judgment, and in some cases even training. There are exceptions: what civilian will ever aqcuire the street sense of when to shoot as a veteran beat cop?
That said, the required training for average miliary and police members is not even up to what an avid IDPA shooter gets.
I remember my very first IPSC match (pre-IDPA days). It was a small club meet and everyone was pretty friendly. I remember thinking nobody there looked like much, and there I was, a ripped-up young guy who'd grown up with guns and always shot expert on every AF qualification course without even trying. You guessed it: I finished dead last.
Now, I get to see the other side: last year a few cops started coming to our IDPA matches. I was glad to see them come out. I was also glad to school them the way I was schooled that first night at an action pistol match.
There's nothing magical about Mil/LE training. Except for full auto, silencers, and unit tactics, the average civilian "gun nut" could train to a higher standard than the average cop/REMF in their spare time without a lot of $$$.
Saying that we should have an "armed class" of people on the goverment dime while the civilians are the sheep is exactly contrary to the spirit of the 2A, which is to be the final protection against oppression by that gov't.