What do the LEO members of THR think of the potential AWB?

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Almost 20 year veteran LEO. Survivor of multiple armed engagements.


LONG story short, I am against any further ban. I could be cliche and point out the definition or "criminal." I could argue all night about our rights, and by the way, every OTHER citizen's rights, afforded us by the second Amendment. But I won't.
Background checks? Ok. Depending on implementation.
Annual qualifications if teachers want to carry? YES!
I had to qualify tonight. I LOVE shooting someone else's ammo.
National database? NO WAY!
More funding for more LEO's on the street? THAT would be nice.
But I don't see the upside to an "AWB." I'm willing to listen to the arguments, but I haven't heard any valid point yet? I hear a lot of very touching, sad stories. I hear a lot of misguided, though well intentioned, ideas that just won't work in the real world.

Bigbore, if I've missed any points you wanted comments on, feel free to ask.
 
New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina. Even if there are a large number of LEO against confiscation, they will stand by and let those who are not go door to door and disarm Americans.
 
I retired from full time LE in 2010 and have been a reserve ofc. since. I started LE in '73 and spent 2/3 of my career with a large dept, the last 1/3 with a much smaller one. I am against a new AWB. I don't think the majority of LE are in favor of an AWB, but many, especially the younger guys, don't seem much interested in anything gun-related, beyond the required dept. training and qualification shoots. I hear much more conversation about sports and/or video games. I can recall only a couple of times over the years hearing officers vocalize their support for more gun control. I remember one of my fellow officers, almost 40 years ago, saying that guns should be banned. That way, cops wouldn't need to carry guns. I guess I could understand his point of view, as he was very athletic, bigger, stronger and faster than most anyone he was ever likely to confront, and could physically prevail, with no worry about a suspect being armed,etc. He only lasted a couple of years in LE, but I have little doubt that he would probably feel the same way today. Along about '93, when Arizona was considering legislation allowing CCW, a detective in the bureau I worked was running around trying to rally support for opposing legal CCW. I don't recall any of our fellow detectives voicing any support for this guy's position, but I suspect that now-retired detective would be all for new restrictive gun control laws at the Federal, State or Local level . That being said, IMHO, most LE do not actively support new restrictions...

hoji, unfortunately, I believe you are correct. When it comes down to the cuttin', they will do more than stand by. If ordered to confiscate or whatever, I believe most LE and military would comply. This due to the fact we're talking careers, income/taking care of one's family, retirement pensions,etc,etc...
 
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Rock185 said:
I retired from full time LE in 2010 and have been a reserve ofc. since. I started LE in '73 and spent 2/3 of my career with a large dept, the last 1/3 with a much smaller one. I am against a new AWB. I don't think the majority of LE are in favor of an AWB, but many, especially the younger guys, don't seem much interested in anything gun-related, beyond the required dept. training and qualification shoots. I hear much more conversation about sports and/or video games. I can recall only a couple of times over the years hearing officers vocalize their support for more gun control. I remember one of my fellow officers, almost 40 years ago, saying that guns should be banned. That way, cops wouldn't need to carry guns. I guess I could understand his point of view, as he was very athletic, bigger, stronger and faster than most anyone he was ever likely to confront, and could physically prevail, with no worry about a suspect being armed,etc. He only lasted a couple of years in LE, but I have little doubt that he would probably feel the same way today. Along about '93, when Arizona was considering legislation allowing CCW, a detective in the bureau I worked was running around trying to rally support for opposing legal CCW. I don't recall any of our fellow detectives voicing any support for this guy's position, but I suspect that now-retired detective would be all for new restrictive gun control laws at the Federal, State or Local level . That being said, IMHO, most LE do not actively support new restrictions...

hoji, unfortunately, I believe you are correct. When it comes down to the cuttin', they will do more than stand by. If ordered to confiscate or whatever, I believe most LE and military would comply. This due to the fact we're talking careers, income/taking care of one's family, retirement pensions,etc,etc...
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Asking LEO what they feel about an AWB is like asking doctors what they feel about ObamaCare. The majority of doctors including yours truly vehemently opposed ObamaCare. It passed anyway and is now the law of the land as they say.

Our current political characters in office care little about "representing" the public any longer and will do what they wish to do. The reports out today in some news outlets is that the house WILL pass UBC in some fashion. If true, the AWB issue pales in comparison to UBC which by virtue of simple logic WILL evolve into a national gun registry. Confiscation WILL eventually follow should UBC become the law of the land.

Both sides say it's tough to compromise on the issue of records. Coburn and the NRA argue that requiring private sellers to keep a record of each background check and gun sale would start down a slippery slope to a national gun registry. Gun control advocates, on the other hand, say enforcing any background check law would be all but impossible if records aren’t kept, and thus would have little impact on the criminals the bill is designed to target.
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http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/...al-if-Democrats-cede-tough-records-fight?lite

I have many friends who are LEO, but as mentioned above, when push comes to shove, most LEO will do what they did in Katrina. In fact, the police chief in our town here in northern Idaho is allegedly pro gun control. If that is the situation in northern Idaho, what about the rest of the nation?
 
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hoji said:
New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina. Even if there are a large number of LEO against confiscation, they will stand by and let those who are not go door to door and disarm Americans.
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Yes! This is what I wanna see, Pro 2A cops standing up for the rights of Americans and stopping COPS who are engaging in confiscation. I wanna see cops stand up to other cops, and their superiors and say this is wrong and do not participate.
 
Creature,
Actually there are many gun owners who support some form of gun control. I want to know LEO members stance on it. If they support mag restrictions, fine. Banning of assault rifles, fine. I just want their take on why they do or don't support something like that. Some replies have been fairly middle of the road.
 
I am not currently nor have I ever been in LE. I do believe and appreciate that the majority of LEO's do not condone more gun control regulations.

With that being said, I do not see how it really matters when their bosses do and are touting them out on stages to state how vehemently they are for more gun control regulations. The sheriffs have taken their stance, but I haven't heard, other than here, about the PD's that are against gun control. I have heard from dozens of people who specifically say that they are for more gun control because LE is for it. They tell me that if they are for it then is must be what is best.

I think that if the majority of LE are against gun control then they need to make their voices heard. Publicly. Otherwise not only does it not help our cause, but it truly hurts it. People who are ignorant about gun tend to believe what the police tell them about them and right now they are saying they want more gun control. Stand up and make your voices heard.

Thank you all for your service.

Shawn
 
I'm against it. I think most responses you'll see on a gun forum are against it. Most cops I know are against it. We've discussed it and all of the guys on my shift are against it.

A few cops I know are in favor of the AWB. The ones in favor of it are not gun people and generally the only gun they own is their duty pistol. They seem to get most of their gun education from the media, and I've heard them talk about things like "cop killer bullets" and "full auto assault weapons." In any case, at least where I work they are very much the minority.
 
Creature,
Actually there are many gun owners who support some form of gun control.
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That may be...but you certainly wont find many here on THR. And you wont find many anti-gun LEOs here on the THR either. Basing the responses you get from this thread, your quasi-research will very likely be skewed and very likely not representative of the vast majority of LEO's opinions, despite what many LEO who respond here will claim.
 
I keep saying don't listen to what these "surveys" say, put out by the anti gun crowd. Cops are just like the rest of us, most understand that it's not legal gun owners who cause these crimes, "other than the nut occasional cases". It's very easy to print anything in a magazine or newspaper.That dosen't mean it's true. I have read about cases in the paper that were completely wrong, but that's what the public gets, a filtered, edited excuse for the truth.
Even when I had business articles written "years ago" about my business, from a PR guy who I paid", he would constantlly exagerate things to where he put me in some sticky situations, saying we did things that we haden't. I had to fire him, people would come in and ask me how I was in Europe yesterday, when they saw me in NY?, But it's in the Post, or the Times, so it has to be true.
 
There is no support for any firearms restrictions by any deputy or corrections officer on the sheriffs dept I work for.

The Illinois Sheriffs Association has come out against any new gun control laws.
 
I believe you asked the wrong question! And I believe you asked it in the wrong place! Their are alot who cannot or will not answer it because they are not allowed to! I would suggest asking it else where. This will not get the information you want!
 
The question shouldn't be do LEO's support new gun control laws. It should be will they enforce them.
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This.

If your state passed something like New York's recent law, or the one that the Governor is getting ready to sign in Colorado, how many of you would refuse to enforce it?

I believe that anyone who is willing to enforce such laws is a clear and present danger to the liberty of us all, and that of future generations. These laws are precisely the type of tyranny that the Second Amendment exists to protect us from. If political means fail, we have no other remedy than that which the Second Amendment protects. It is not a pleasant option, but it must be done.
 
Death Ninja said:
Wonderful, how your mind works....Just who is it that gives orders, and just who is it that recieves them? The whole idea of "rank" is predicated upon the concept of senior v junior.
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Uhhhmmm, Duhuhhhhhh, isn't the military all about rank structure or was there some other reason I had to salute my "superior" officers???

Sorry, but your point my friend. And by the way, I was promoted to the rank of Major before leaving service as well. Yes, junior and senior officers are a fact of the US military. Once again, what is your point????
 
Alaska none
Trolling is being done right now by both the RABID anit, and pro sides, there are individuals who are so worked up, they see US as people standing around mumbling.

What they fail to get, is that jumping up and down right now waving guns and ranting about gun control at the top of our lungs, will do little except alienate potential allies and POLARIZE those who are undecided.

Yeah, you can get a few more, but you will scare the sheeple and disgust the Fudd's
As for the rest, Oath Keepers have a point, and very good one, and work by PEER education, which in this case is probably the best way we can tackle it.
 
I may not be an LEO yet but....

As the title says, I'm not a Police Officer or anything, not yet at least. But, I do come from a cop family and several of my teachers are former/reserve duty LEOs, former/current military, etc. All of them except two are complete gun 'nuts' (I mean that in a very sincere way seeing as I'm one too :neener:). All of them said they would refuse to carry out any law or directive pertaining to the confiscation of firearms and the two that aren't just don't like guns, they're long retired (like 30+ years retired) and respect the individual right to own a gun, I've never asked their opinion on 'Assault Weapons' because I don't care, they're my family.

LEOs and military may have to 'follow' orders but they are not computers or robots, they can think for themselves and decide whether or not they want to execute those orders. Some may carry out such an order, I suspect many would simply stand down and some may even completely 'switch' sides. I cannot say for sure for those that are not my family members, but I can bet money and feel pretty safe they wouldn't.

Hope this helps.
 
I think my thousands of posts online, hundreds of letters to lawmakers, and years worth of continuous lobbying efforts for 2nd Amendment rights answers that question from my perspective. But, for whatever it's worth to reiterate this point: I'm strongly against these worthless regulations, which will only victimize the law-abiding.

Most of my colleagues agree with my view.
 
pat701 said:
Retired Chicago Police here. 90% of CPD is Not in favor of a AWB!! 90% of CPD is in favor for carried concealed. Don't believe all read read about the CPD being anti-gun;)
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I got into a conversation with a Chicago Police Officer at 7/11 once. He was the first police officer I had seen since I was a kid with a revolver strapped to his hip. He was a gun nut, hated the laws in Chitown and wanted to find out about the CMP and how to get a Garand. He was a really nice guy.
 
LEO on guns - AWB

34 years on the job....have been on site during two complete meltdowns in LA in 92 ( Rodney King) and then Miami in August (Hurricane Andrew) of same year. Citizens who were armed protected their property and were able to defend themselves, unarmed couldn't. I am a lifetime NRA member, GOA member and SAF member, have been a 2A activist since the late 60's.....still am. Opposed the 94AWB, oppose any further laws on guns, mag's or the so called "universal background" checks. What the law makers really need to focus on is:
A. Mandatory prosecution ( not discretionary by a prosecutor) of criminals using guns committing violent crimes. FederaL prosecution has declined last several years ( guess why).
B. No plea bargaining for gun violations - this is the first thing that they plea bargain away due to existing mandatory sentencing guidelines ( federal).
C. Restructure our very badly broken mental health system, that has made involuntary commitment virtually impossible.....our society is rapidly turning into a "open air insane asylum....all of this due to special interest groups....and court actions.
Most officers I know are in favor of responsible citizens owning firearms, a lot of these "brass hats" you see lined up on TV are politically appointed police chiefs who are going to say whatever their boss wants them to say ( and their boss is usually the mayor)....have seen this performed over and over for decades. There is an increasing number of Sheriff's standing up and saying "no" and I haven't seen that before.
 
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All I know and online with = oppose

I am in touch with approx a thousand LEO's and they all oppose this b.s.

I am retired LEO, and even the retirees that dont carry are opposed.
 
I think that if the majority of LE are against gun control then they need to make their voices heard. Publicly. Otherwise not only does it not help our cause, but it truly hurts it. People who are ignorant about gun tend to believe what the police tell them about them and right now they are saying they want more gun control. Stand up and make your voices heard.
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Easier said than done. Most departments prohibit officers from engaging in political activities while in uniform. What good does it do for me to stand up and oppose the AWB as an LEO if I am then fired and no longer an LEO? I can oppose it all day long as an individual but bringing my department into the discussion is out of the question. For example, I recently took a local radio host out to the range to edumacate him on the topic of guns. I refused to tell him what department I worked for so there was no chance he'd slip up and mention it on the radio, thereby bringing the wrath of the higher-ups down on me (again) for putting the department in the media without it being tightly controlled by the media relations guy.

Chiefs (political appointees and therefore politicians themselves) have the authority to speak for their department. Rank and file LEOs do not. That keeps a lot of us from being able to "stand up and make our voices heard."

For the record, I find the entire concept that disarming law abiding citizens somehow has an effect on criminal behavior to be ridiculous.
 
I think cops that say they are against AWB are stretching the truth. I do not believe them. 10 thousand guns were taken away in NO during Katrina. the state police in NY went undercover and locked up a guy under the safe act and it is just the beginning. cops will not risk their multi million dollar pensions so billy bob who they don't know can have an AK
 
INformation Officer

Post 48 is correct...My agency prohibits any interviews or contact with the press when in uniform or in any activity that is controversial or could have a negative reflection on the agency....we have several written policy statements regarding this and you will be disciplined or terminated if you do not heed them. Any information being sourced to the press must come from our Public Information Officer......I have seen officer's disregard this policy in years past and they were punished. So those of us in the trenches cannot "speak out" in any way that refers to our job or agency...unless we want to lose our jobs, careers and not be able to support ourselves and families.
 
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