I can assure you you're waaay higher in turn-around estimation than you think. In my six years of employment I have had one handgun...and that wasn't new when I got it. I believe it was purchased by the dept back in 2001 and, unless they follow suit with other depts recently and upgrade from .40 to .45...I don't see us getting a new armory or pistols anytime soon. And for reference, before the Glocks were purchased in 01ish, they all had S&W 4006s and those were the only pistols had since they retired the revolvers in '90...and to my knowledge most of the revolvers had been maintained since some time in the early 70s before they built the existing PD HQ in 78 (I think).
Thanks for that. It verifies what I was trying to get across to people - the civilian market is WAY higher for most of these companies than the LEO market is.
I see where you're going with this...and I can understand and appreciate it, but here's the issue with the country today.
I am employed by a city which gets it's funding from both the local budget which is based primarily on property taxes and the state budget which is funded primarily by income taxes as well as federal monies also from income taxes.
So if you either A. work for a living and/or B. own property or C. are retired/disabled having previously contributed to the system then yes, I work for about $2 per working-aged resident in my city (not saying they all work). The problem is almost half of our country doesn't contribute to the system and there's a high number of aide recipients that have NEVER contributed to the system sucking the life out of the financial wallet of our states, cities and towns. Money that could be appropriated elsewhere...and I'm not implying in my pocket, although I HAVE gone four years without a raise and watched my health insurance premium rise exponentially from a city who's mayor publicly totes it as being well off and having over $15M in reserves and growing.
My point is this: YOU don't have to worry about the majority of police officers. Yes, most of us are disgruntled to an extent but who isn't at their job? I have plenty of friends in the private sector that loathe their jobs. Off the top of my head I can only think of maybe two people that actually skip into work. I'm not crying about my job mind you...unlike many beside me I knew full well what I was getting into having grown up with other friend's fathers as police officers. They never sugar-coated it and I benefit from that. YOU are not the one's we abhor. The problem today is the growing number of calls to service or for these teat-suckers that I know you despise as well. Criminal element aside, I respond to more bullshit 'disturbances' to local motels/hotels that have become "shelters" for the homeless and domestic abuse "victims" where all they do is bitch about what the other is doing next door. And I say "victims" because these women are supposed to be there as a refuge from the male party that assaulted them and are required to not have any males present yet the baby-daddy that just smacked the shit out of them last week is now living with them for free on OUR dime. And when I report this to the appropriate authorities involved with the program, I get told that they can't just show up and spot check to find a violation (which would disqualify them and get booted out) because now they change their physical addresses to the hotel which now constitutes as their RESIDENCE which means the program and/or the hotel has to go through housing court to evict them. And they replicate like rabbits teaching the baby rabbits how to abuse the system as they get older...perpetuating the cycle and increasing the amount of draw on our civil finances. I have had many of these third class citizens tell me that I work for them to which I reply, "I don't work for you...I work for those who put money in your entitlement check. The same that bought your big screen TV, your free phone, your xBox, your food and your free healthcare."
It took a shootout with an felon armed and a stolen AR and two stolen handguns to get ARs in our cruisers...and then it was still pulling teeth. I have had to draw down on home invaders and armed robbers that had in their possession homemade SBSs and SBRs more times in the past than I would like to count when I would have loved to have a rifle at my disposal...and sadly our policy states then as it does now that I cannot provide my own for duty. So yes, our hands are tied in the fight against criminals...not law-abiding people.
I don't disagree with drawing a line in the sand....but why can't the line be shipping to all states equally. As a business owner take yourself out of the political equation and ship to every state leaving legalities to the end user. There are a plethora of pre AND post ban 30 rnd mags in the state...and if they're metal only and even the trained eye can't tell the difference if certain components are changed. The law puts the burden of proof on the state, but you have to suffer confiscation and arrest as such. These are laws that we need to change as a people with our votes for our elected officials...a mere '**** you' to the industry does nothing. The majority of these companies shipping hundreds of thousands of these magazines overseas and reap the benefits. They'll stay in business, and with us changing who represents us...so will we.
I understand that effort and the symbolism, but restricting sales to police departments means nothing...that majority of them have the equipment already and won't be buying large quantities if the don't, because Shaniqua, Maria, and Bobbi-Jo are spending the money for us all.
I understand everything you're saying - and I have heard the same story from friends of mine who are in LE in one capacity or another - and we've seen a bunch of people here in the pages of NES who have said very similar things.
Here's the problem. I believe you - MOST of the LEO's in this country are
likely on the side of the "people". However - I think there's also plenty of evidence to say there's a bunch of them who are NOT. Maybe that's just the way things are - you're never going to get a huge bunch of people to all agree perfectly on any subject. That is why tyrannies get formed in the first place - because some group WANTS everybody to agree - they don't - so they just force the issue and MAKE YOU.
Every time one of these gun bans goes thru - there are always exemptions for law enforcement. As plenty of people have already pointed out - if we don't need them - then why does law enforcement?
Well I think part of the answer is this: The politicians THINK that law enforcement needs them for the same reason that the Supreme Court has ruled that the police cannot be sued for failing to "protect" a "civilian". It's because law enforcement is GOVERMENT AGENCY. And as plenty of us have noticed - the police never fail to protect government assets - government employees - etc. , whenever there is a crisis.
Getting companies to refuse to sell to LEO's is an exercise in reigning in the goddam government - who think that they are above us. And the politicians know this - which is why they put the exemptions in in the first place. They politicians don't want the LEO's disarmed - because the LEO's are the ones who will be protecting THEM ( and they likely won't be protecting ME).
If things were different - and I actually thought that the local law enforcement wasn't as likely to come by my house and shoot my dog during a no knock drug raid gone wrong - as they were to show up if a burglar entered my house in the middle of the night and I called 911 - then I would buy you one of those AR's you needed in your cruiser MYSELF (I've got like five of them now - I think if I actually thought the cops were with me instead of more likely than not AGAINST me - I could reason away giving one to outfit a cruiser).
But what would that get me in todays political/social/legal environment? I would likely find myself at the end of that AR at some point in time? What's the point in arming up a government force that is as much a threat to me as anything else I might come across in my life?
This is a bigger problem than what we are even trying to cover in this thread. It's political, social, legal - etc. I don't think we can even start to get it fixed though - until we start reigning in some of the forces that are making life worse for all of us.
I fail to see how continuing to arm up the government's police forces - while civilians are being dis-armed - is doing anything but making things worse for all of us.
In the end the real target of refusing to sell to the police departments - is the politicians - because if they think that the police will not be able to protect them - then maybe they'll think a little bit differently.
Does that put LE in the middle of a shitstorm? - yes it does. Too bad - we're all in the middle of a shitstorm right now. I don't see any reason why we shouldn't make everybody feel the pain.