Gun Control III

If the pursuer was a cop and the cop was killed, would that be any different? How about an off-duty cop late on the scene?

These things always seem counter to natural justice but the law is pretty clear; you have a right to defend yourself but once the danger has passed you can't just attack someone.Had the bad guy not shot back, it's even possible that the good guy could have been charged for shooting him in the leg. Your right to protect your property only extends to using reasonable force - whether shooting someone amounts to reasonable in the US I wouldn't know given your love of guns and vigilantes. Likelihood would be a jury would refuse to find guilt even if the law seemed to require it anyway.The situation is a bit different if the good guy was police. So long as he'd issued sufficient warnings he might be off the hook because the bad guy was actively resisting arrest. But I don't know your laws.

Yes, exactly, that's another theme of this thread. The protections extended to police result in a sense of empowerment combined with impunity that results in a fair percentage of police departments becoming abusive.But even police can find themselves embroiled in trouble when they shoot at fleeing suspects, so armed civilians, untrained and unfamiliar with the nuances, are even more likely might to be tempted (in the name of justice and all that is fair) to fire at criminals, not realizing a threat must exist.I guess it's the irony that gets me. People buy a gun to feel safe, but not only are they less safe physically just by placing a gun in their vicinity, unless they're well versed in the law they're probably less safe legally, depending upon jurisdiction.--Percy

I'm not even sure if I would have a gun at home, but the lesson here is certainly that one best leave their gun at home and definitely never bring it to work.Guns tend to complicate things, but I would never be in favor of outlawing them because as the saying goes, only outlaws (and some robbers and thieves) would have them. Carjackings are not a peaceful thought. Which is one reason I own a clunker. Nobody would want to carjack me!

My wife and I drive newer cars. Never worried about carjacking. Yes it happens but not enough to be constantly armed.
The "if you outlaw guns only outlaws will have guns" is one of the stupider pro-gun arguments.

Personally, I say to bring as many magazines to the picnic as you can. The girls need new ones for their beauty parlor.We've moved way away from the Gun Control thread, but I just wanted to flag you down and see if you are ok. Anyone who agrees with me that you are worth checking up on hit this post up with a green like!

Of course it depends a lot on where you live.

If only outlaws have guns, it's easier to tell who the outlaws are. Arrest them on the way to the bank, lock them up, throw away the key, and there will be fewer bank robberies.

The recent Tyre Nichols case has brought to the forefront an argument I've made myself in this thread, that police should not be patrolling traffic. The same guy/gal who puts on a gun, a taser, a baton, pepper spray, window punch, handcuffs and body armor (typically around 25 pounds of total gear) so that he's prepared to take down the bad guys should not be the same guy/gal who pulls you over for doing 40 in a 30 zone. I don't want this "armed to the teeth with nerves on razor edge because some monster might be lurking behind the wheel" person approaching my vehicle.Police responsibility for carrying out wellness checks, traffic stops, security checks (e.g.,while you're away on vacation) should be given to other departments within government (but not within the police department) for providing these and other services. The police should be responsible for crime and crime-related public safety.If Tyre Nichols had been pulled over by a traffic cop armed only with a camera for taking images of the vehicle, the license plate and the driver and whose training included and emphasized how to back away or even run away when confronted with resistance or danger, then Tyre Nichols would still be with us. The subject of the traffic stop will not be getting away. The real cops now have all the information they need to track him down and arrest him.That the cops now under arrest for the murder of Tyre Nichols were black has received a lot of attention. This is a behavior pattern I noticed often during my working career. Staff takes on the values and behaviors of the culture they work within, even when it runs against their own values and culture, and the nature of that culture is driven by management. I worked in high tech, and some reading this have probably noticed reports in recent years of high tech companies taking retaliatory measures against employees they deem as having acted against the best interests of the company.This is not a new phenomena. I was experiencing it as long as 30 years ago. As soon as they deem you a trouble maker they find other problems with your performance that for some reason are not even hinted at in any prior performance review, and in this way they keep trouble makers in line. Those seeking allies to fight a company policy or action will find few takers.The cops who murdered Tyre Nichols embraced and internalized the values of the culture they worked within. That is not their fault. That is human nature. It's what people do. Their behavior was unusual only in its level of violence. Police departments across the country encourage an "us versus them" mentality, and woe to you if you have an interaction with a cop who has decided you fit in the "them" category. The result is hordes of cops on our streets amped up on terrifying training that makes their primary daily goal to just make it to the end of their shift alive by any means possible. You give them any reason to think that goal at risk and you are toast.I was once pulled over for having an expired inspection sticker by a recently hired cop at the school entrance while dropping off my son. I did what I always do at the school in order to keep the line moving, which was to let my son out of his car seat, but I also grabbed the stamped inspection extension form I had sitting on the dashboard. I was ordered back into my car with what I considered extreme vehemence and prejudice. I of course obeyed, the drop-off line was completely disrupted while he radioed in his stop before finally coming over to look at my extension form. We live in a quiet rural community and this cop was gone in a few weeks. I don't know if we were too quiet for his liking or if he just annoyed too many people. Either is possible. In any case, we don't need cops like this, aggravated and armed, on school property checking inspection stickers, and it's a poor use of police resources given all their crime-related training.So let's let cops focus on crime and free them up from all the other responsibilities that for too long they've been overburdened with. We'll all be better off for it.--Percy

Very good points. I am going to share your post on some other forums I participate in. If you want I will link back to the original post. I think these ideas deserve wide discussion.

The trouble with that is that there are a lot of monsters behind the wheel. Your Constitution guarantees your right to be a monster behind the wheel, armed to the teeth and ready to blaze away at anybody who rubs you the wrong way. Asking anybody to pull over a strange car is like asking your Marines to invade a random country unarmed.

AbE: Click on the "Image Not Found" link and you'll be brought to the editorial cartoon, which apparently the Washington Post has rendered inaccessible from other sites.--Percy

This digital article from the Washington Post graphically illustrates the damage that the high velocity bullets from an AR-15 can do. The shock wave created by the velocity as well as the shattering of the bullet itself causes massive damage to a wide area and creates a huge exit wound. Unless they hit an extremity, most wounds from these bullets are not survivable. Those who do survive are frequently left with permanent debilitating injuries: THE BLAST EFFECT: This is how bullets from an AR-15 blow the body apartI hope the Post has made the article freely available.--PercyPS: I see the link to the editorial cartoon I previously posted is no longer available. I have future plans to make it possible to upload images that aren't too big to the website so that they don't disappear from posts when the owner moves or removes them.

That is perhaps the saddest and most heart wrenching article that I have ever read. Those AR 15's need to be outlawed or limited to police and military only. There is no good use for such a gun.

Won't happen if you keep supporting the #GQP.