"They do, as "civilians" can and do own the same firearms as used by LE. Where have you been the last two hundred plus years?"
I, and probably most of the NFA board would take umbrage at a statement cast that carelessly. When it costs me 1,000% more (1500$ vs. 15000$) than the authorities --whose salaries/equipment
I'm also paying for
No. We civilians cannot "own the same firearms as used by LE" since LE can use guns newer than '86 and for a hell of a lot less money.
"The price a PD pays for their machine guns is irrelevant."
I'm paying for it, so it's hardly irrelevant. That I don't pay the same price for it myself is hardly-er irrelevant (er)
"-States/municipalities have shortsightedly forsaken their duties and ceded them to federal agencies"
"Yet you and several others want local PD "SWAT" teams to do the job of Federal agencies? Local and state LE doesn't enforce Federal law."
If the DEA is required to maintain law and order in a PD's neck of the woods (as is asserted by the proposed threat of these grows and meth labs being raided by federal authorities) then what is the local SWAT for? What is the local police force for? It'd make more sense to put the DEA resources and mandates into local's hands, because then the local PDs would at least be accountable to the populace they serve as opposed to a thrice-removed bureaucratic oversight committee.
"Our country still has a checks and balances system. While you may disagree, we are a nation of laws.......and if you dislike a law no one is stopping you from attempting to get it reversed. And "powerful, violent opposition"?.......that would be a criminal act. Again if you don't like the law, change it.....there is a way you know."
My point was that you tend to get hurt doing stuff you shouldn't be. There are more officers killed in raids every year, since these once-rare tactics have become ubiquitous. The premises that used to justify their use
have not.
"I'm not a cop, never been a cop, never will be a cop......but if my local police officers need AR's (and they do), MRAPS, drones, SWAT ninjas, or sharks with lasers to do their job and be able to go home to their family at night.....God bless them. It's an often repeated statement: "don't bring a knife to a gun fight".........well you don't have to be a cop to know "don't bring only a handgun when the other guy has a rifle" is sensible."
And what will you say when the police chief, with the mayor behind him, says your disarmament is the only way to keep his officers safe? It happens
every time. I also think you need to rethink your stance on throwing money at problems, which is all equipment purchases are, since resources are very rarely the problem in a country as awash in riches as ours. I support our officers, but not endlessly, nor blindly, and I believe they can be run better as is the case with every other government entity.
"No, its because police officers want to go home to their family at the end of their shift. America in 2014 isn't Mayberry, NC in 1965."
And 1934 wasn't 1900, because it was utterly awash in machine-gun attacks by bootleggers. Except that that was an utter lie promulgated to get support for the National Firearms Act aimed squarely at limiting the kinds of weapons Bonus Army type uprisings could accumulate. And more importantly, keeping them out of the hands of poor people/minorities in cities
"Constables (in Texas) rarely serve high risk fugitive warrants.....you should know that if you live here......they serve CIVIL PAPERS."
That's why I used the term "constable"
-"Put it this way: Dallas (or was it Ft. Worth? Probably both by this point) acquired an MRAP
for the stated purpose of serving subpoenas & warrants. Like I said;
constable stuff."
"This thread isn't about firearms, it's just another tin foil hat infused rant against our own government."
I'd wager the local PDs wear more metal on their head than me. Or Kevlar, as the case may be
. The thread was about firearms
purchases, though I did try to get some clarity on what types of gun they might actually source for this (becuz it might be cool
). Seeing as it is about policy, it makes sense for some political tones to enter the conversation, provided we keep the focus on their impact on the RKBA.
On that note, I have one more bullet item;
-The same impulse of PDs to lobby for increased operational effectiveness is the exact same impulse used to justify disarmament of the populace, if left unchecked
Anything to get home safe. Anything.
Anything. Even if it gets me and my dog shot when they raid the wrong address and fail to identify
TCB