dac1842 wrote:It causes me some concern on the mental state of some of our fellow CHL holders when I see comments regarding the police and folks saying that they will not stop and and assist if they see one in trouble, or referring to them as the the gestapo, referring to them as the enemy.
1- If anyone were to go past anybody, police or not that is in trouble and does not stop to assist, may you burn in Hades. The backbone of our country is the willingness to help those in need. To make a statement that if I see a cop in trouble I am just going to mind my own business and keep going, or refer to them as the enemy just completely blows me away.
The very ones that make that kind of statement are the ones that will Gary BlankinshipGary Blankinshipscream the loudest if an officer just minds his own business and drives by them in a moment of distress.
To see those comments on a board like this is very disconcerting. Take a moment an think about what our lives would be like if it was not for our Law Enforcment community. Anyone that believes that the Second Amendment will protect us and keep our community from becoming lawless without the men and women on the streets in patrol cars is completely and utterly insane.
2-I worked the streets for 15 years. The officer that stops a person has the right to know if that person is armed. That right is not contained in any written document, it is the safety and security of the officer that supercedes anything else. Granted the crook on the street is not going to notify, but the person that does notify the officer that he or she is legally carrying a weapon helps his/her own cause. That officer now realizes he is probably dealing with someone who is law abiding, is not a threat to him or his safety and actually cares enough to mention it.
3- The State of Texas gives us the privilege that I know most here feel Gary Blankinshipis a right, to carry a concealed weapon. I am not here to argue the merits or constitutionality of our right to carry. We MUST comply with laws regardless of if we agree with them or not. Along with any right we have comes responsibility. The right to carry comes with it the responsibility to be conciencious of how we exercise that right. IMHO, it is an obligation for us to notify the officer we have a weapon. Even though the crooks wont do it, responsibility is what separates us from the crooks.
The right to free speech does not carry with it the right to offend. We can say what we want, but being respectful, not politcially correct, respectful, is the responsibility of that right.
Even being an ex cop I have had my fair share of less than ideal dealings with the police. I do not judge all police by the actions of a very very few. I hope that you that have ill will towards the police will not judge all by the actions of a few.
Even though I do not agree with the statements of i will not stop and assist an officer in trouble, or referring to them as the gestapo or the enemy. I will defend to the death, your right to say it.
Could be a lot of us are justifiably angry and need a little venting.
Used to be police officers were the good guys.
In my time I have seen them beat black people and sweep them off their feet for the sole reason they wanted to be treated like real citizens. Used to be that LEOS worked a beat and stopped and talked to the citizens. Today it seems like the cops are right there the minute we go 10 miles over the speed limit, but can take more than an hour to respond to a broken in house. We use to believe that our government was here to protect us from the evil of the world. Today our government is the evil we that we truly fear.. We have seen Feds shoot down a whole family in Ruby Ridge and burn out an entire community. Our war on drugs fought by LEOS is truly a war on 30% of our nations citizens. People today are on the verge of complete revolt, yet we wonder why the LEO community isn't so fully supported? How can we be happy with the enforcers of our government when we are so POed at the government itself. To many of us its just not so clear who is the good guys and who is the bad guys anymore.
Many CHL holders tend to be great believers of freedom. They believe in our constitution, and they believe that government should be limited, yet it keeps growing in power and numbers. We believe that police who drive around look for seat belt violators are the enemy of freedom. We want to be responsible for our selves. Not the police state taking over every aspect of our lives.
So when we see the LEOs on TV and the media speaking out against us CHL holders or the chiefs praising the new seatbelt crackdowns. We never seem to hear anything on the news or in the papers from police speaking up for more freedom of the people. Law enforcement agencies and the unions fought us tooth and nail to get CHL laws, They paid big money to lobby to keep our citizens unarmed. We hear the chiefs brag about the big drug bust on the news, but where are the police when they bust the cancer patient for having a plant in his back yard, and the patient claims that its the only way he can hold his food down... I never see the departments speaking up for more CHL rights, or even sticking up for our constitution. Most time when I see the chiefs or department heads on the evening news they talk about our constitution as though it is an obstacle to be worked around.
Now this isn't to say that freedom loving folks don't apreciate the the police do, and the risk that they take to perform their job, but . when we have police spokesman speaking up against us like in the original post we get angry and want to strike back. Can anyone blame us for being an. gry? We CHL holders have a lot of enemies who want to take away our rights and freedom. (BTW: I thought it was a
RIGHT to bear arms] We have proven that despite the legal traps our government has laid out for us we have lead pretty clean lives and proven that we are capable of making the right decisions. Its a little ironic that a Police spokesman can complain to the press about us not being able to be prosecuted while a. nother complains about our lack of willingness to use our weapons to he. lp the same officer.
I wonder when this Union hack spoke if he even considered how his words could cost him and the officers he represent in support. I wonder how many officers complained to this guy about his alignment with the disarmers? One can get mad at CHLers who are rightfully POed, but the guy the LEOs should really be angry with is the guy who started this war of words Gary Blankinship. If the LEOs he supposedly represents don't speak out and vote against him, then maybe the LEO deserves a little of our anger and loss of support. The question we all might ask, is this LEO for me or my enemy.
