Police Opinion on New Gun Laws

[jpdopes]

Thank you. Thank you for your post, your candor and your service. It's refreshing and reassuring to hear that you and your fellow officers are on our side. We certainly need to hear from more of your colleagues!

 

[milktree]

Right on!

Put your name and address on that and mail it to everyone on capitol hill!

PM me your address and I'll send you a roll of 100 stamps!

 

[Shawnjohn16]

I'm in for 1,000 stamps

 

[OPM]

Please let your colleagues know that I am in for 100 stamps to any PO.

 

[ochmude]

For those of us that do not know protocol, what could you do to ID yourself as a LEO but without being in full uniform? I don't mean to us, we take you at your word. I mean people from the outside looking in.

When it comes to media or anything that would involve media exposure, absolutely nothing. Agency policy prohibits us from having any substantive interactions with media and requires that we direct all inquiries to the office of public affairs. Smaller departments and sheriff's offices might have more lenient attitudes, though (I'm federal). Truthfully, I take a bit of a risk just being as outspoken as I am on this forum.

Regretfully probably true. Or at the least denied Details or given the crap shifts, depending upon your COP's feelings. But it could make for a very interesting lawsuit considering you're not breaking any laws. Just supporting the Constitution.

NOT calling you out personally!!!! Don't know what I would do in your personal situation. But hopefully a groundswell is happening where you could actually exercise your 1st Ammendment before they take away our 2nd Ammendment.

If you give it thought, though, this really isn't a situation which is unique to law enforcement or even to the public sector. Heck, if a Best Buy cashier stood in front of cameras tomorrow in Boston and professed his support for the 2A while wearing his blue Best Buy polo, he'd be just as likely to be fired. He doesn't have the authority within the corporation to be the public face of Best Buy for anything whatsoever, and definitely didn't have his message and talking points evaluated by Best Buy's lawyers and public relations executives. LEO's are in the same boat.

 

[drgrant]

If you give it thought, though, this really isn't a situation which is unique to law enforcement or even to the public sector. Heck, if a Best Buy cashier stood in front of cameras tomorrow in Boston and professed his support for the 2A while wearing his blue Best Buy polo, he'd be just as likely to be fired. He doesn't have the authority within the corporation to be the public face of Best Buy for anything whatsoever, and definitely didn't have his message and talking points evaluated by Best Buy's lawyers and public relations executives. LEO's are in the same boat.

This is why for example, there is a former LEO who basically runs an org that trashes the entire "war on drugs" as being pointless and costing police officers their lives, but he's retired or something like that. Anyone who is active can't stick their head too far out without fear of losing it, unless they're backed up by their command brass, and in matters of politics thats liable to be RARE in a lot of towns and cities in MA.

-Mike

 

[LR2a]

Is there some reason police chiefs in "green towns" aren't more vocal? We only seem to hear from the ones who want more restrictions on guns.

 

[marleythefish]

thank you for you're post and for realizing that we are not the enemy, we are the good guys.

 

[drgrant]

Is there some reason police chiefs in "green towns" aren't more vocal? We only seem to hear from the ones who want more restrictions on guns.

Many towns are "green" not because they are Pro 2A they are green because someone has decided its the path of least resistance for issuing licenses. There's a big difference between the two.

I'll give you a fun example... how many "Green" ALP/None towns still require reference letters for first time applicants, despite the fact that this isn't really even in the law? There are a metric ton of these.

-Mike

 

[Bill Katt]

As said before: Best first post ever!
+1
Also, welcome to the forum 438.

Please Please PLEASE go public with this! Your opinion DOES matter, and carries more weight than ours alone. Your voice is equivalent to ten thousand of us "regular folk." I hope this gets posted on mainstream news outlets everywhere! Thank you for your thoughtful consideration.

THIS^^ Please do whatever you can and get as many of your brothers to join with you/us.

.....when you DO attend a rally, meeting, or whatever, be in uniform. Cops are afforded a special degree of trust in our society....when an Anti CoP says, "Ban big clips, and killy guns, he's in a blue suit. When the Middlesex Sheriff moderated a Gun Violence panel, he had a mini-badge on his lapel. When you (this goes to all LEOs, and other "first responders" here) speak out, you need to do the same.

THIS^ Too^ Wherever and whatever you and other LEOs can do to get your voices heard would be far more meaningful than anything us mere gun owners could do.

 

[Mudfish]

Isn't the whole point of your union to represent you? I would think your time would be better spent getting the union on board with your beliefs rather than going at your legislatures. I'm not saying you shouldn't contact your legislature, but I would think that if every LEO who was sympathetic pushed the union to get on board it would have a huge impact on this so called "conversation".

 

[economist]

My goal is to get as many police officers as I can to call their elected officials and voice their disdain for these proposed regulations

Thanks for your nice posts here. We need law enforcement on our side. And the biggest reason for that is the way anti-gun politicians use the police to further their agenda. In the New York debate (as short as it was), we heard many times that the state police had advised the authors of the legislation -- that the state police liked just about any part of the law that was up for debate. This had the effect of shutting down a lot of potential opposition. In Mass, we see a similar result when discussions of gun rights come up.

Thanks for your efforts to move things in the right direction.

 

[weekendracer]

I wish I could post a link to my fed LEO site. There is a major 'out yourself' thread going on that would probably do a little more to change current opinion on where 'law enforcement' stands as a general rule. While you guys throw around some nasty words at times, several people have flat out used 'traitor' and 'seditious' for even saying we would not enforce a law dealing with registration or confiscation. Considering it was several pages long, the number of people who sound willing to go along with this are far fewer than those of us who will either quit or refuse to do such actions. I'd imagine those throwing around the traitor tag probably aren't much to worry about.

Oh well, at least there are a few more names to add to lists. I know for a fact the site is monitored in D.C.

 

[Kicker96FS]

Great post! Maybe you could send it to our Governor along with a thousand other men in blue that "get it" seeing as he does not (want to).

Thank you for your 26+ years!

 

[Infinite Jester]

Wow. Woke up to read this thread this morning. It's full of win. I keep mentioning that we must get to the LEOs in this fight. Without them, we've already lost. There have been numerous CoPs and Sheriffs all over the country that have already stated publicly that they will nullify these archaic laws. Politicians can make whatever legislation they like, but it's up to the LEOs to enforce it on the ground level. Tell them 'no' loud and clear.

 

[Retired-LEO]

Thank You

 

[electricbeach]

Great post, very uplifting to read. I have talked to police at my range a few times before any of this stuff was going on and they all agreed that licensed gun owners are not the problem and they have no problem with the citizens being lawfully armed.

Refreshing.

 

[Mark from MA]

The cops need to be with us not against us if we will ecer turn this around

 

[TUGINSTRUCTOR]

That would have been a great speech for tomorrow. Great post 438.

Sent from my DROID4 using Tapatalk 2

I couldn't agree more, and many Thanks for a great real life and experience post OP.

 

[gene]

If only the politicians got it and stopped using us, lawfull gun owners as pauns in their game of political pandering and public deception.

 

[WanMan99]

Hello all, this is my first post on the forum, although I have been reading it for the past several years. With the recent events happening I felt compelled to give an opinion. I am a career police officer in a mid sized community in the greater Boston area, and have been so for 26 years. I belive my experience gives me some insight into crime and criminal behavior. I am also a gun owner, avid target shooter, trap shooter, and hunter (bow and gun). I lawfully own several of the guns the Commonwealth has deemed "evil".
In recent days I have had numerous conversations with literally dozens of fellow police officers from all over the state, and we all agree on one thing: None of the proposed legislation recently filed will have any effect on crime or criminals. It will only punish and hinder lawful gun owners. Anyone who believes otherwise is detached from reality. I would like to convey to the others on this forum that most police officers are not in favor of burdensome regulations that serve no purpose other than to criminalize otherwise lawful citizens. Really, most street officers and line supervisors get it: the lawful gun owner is not the enemy. I am not concerned that someone who goes through the Commonwealth's licensing process is going to use their gun to commit a crime. It just doesnt happen that way. People who commit crimes with guns do not worry about licenses, magazine capacity, pre ban, post ban whatever. They don't care. That's why they are criminals. We realize that the lawful gun owner is our friend, family member, neighbor etc. They are members of the community we serve, and they should not be demonized for excercising a Constitutional right.
I would echo what others have posted and urge you to call your elected officials and voice your opinion on these recent legistlative proposals which will be disasterous to all lawful gun owners. This is my personal opinion only. Thank you.

+1

Thank you for your service.

 

[neum69]

My goal is to get as many police officers as I can to call their elected officials and voice their disdain for these proposed regulations

438, thanks for your thoughtful, on-target comments and for taking an active role in framing our elected officials' thinking by involving your like minded officer friends. I couldn't ask for more (except possibly that you speak at the rally today...)

 

[Revelationechc]

Way to start off right, welcome.

 

[SLG6056]

Great post. Thank you for letting us know how real street cops feel about this.

 

[xtry51]

Great first post

 

[Harkes2k]

By chance does anyone on here have a way of having some direct contact with the police union?

 

[Coyote33]

Thank you for posting that.

I think there might be a national organization for law enforcement against gun control. Perhaps you could start or join this in MA.

By chance does anyone on here have a way of having some direct contact with the police union?

I'd say do it separate from the union. It would be easier that way.

 

[American 1]

Please make yourself and other officers who share you views, heard !!! Great input

 

[WBspectrum]

Thanks
Reading that offered a glimmer of hope in an otherwise crappy week full of assaults on my rights.


It would be great if a discussion could be started over on www.masscops.com

 

[SIG1735]

As many others have said, great first post!