nightmare69 wrote:carlson1 wrote:nightmare69 wrote:
I don't see EMS being able to carry either as I've heard of a federal law prohibiting carrying a firearm while in possession of narcotics.
What law? If you have had a surgery and taking a pain pill I don't know of a law that bands you from your using your LTC.
Beats me, heard it from some hose draggers.
They said since their ambulance contains narcotics they cannot carry a firearm because it could be viewed as drug trafficking.
I don't doubt they told you this but it sounds like complete bunkum. How on earth would having an LTC and firearm and being licensed to dispense opioids according to the approved protocols constitute "drug trafficking." "Drug trafficking" can certainly be done without a firearm, and there are some EMS folks who have gotten themselves in trouble fiddling with the inventory, but having a LTC and firearm doesn't have anything to do with it.
Now, if they are working for a large city or a large corporation, I can see those entities being gun-phobic and reflexively banning employees from carrying guns -- and giving all kinds of spurious reasons for it. "Care givers, not fighters" "drug trafficking" and so on.
The vast majority of firefighters in Texas are volunteers, not paid, and I would bet that the same is true for medical first responders. For example, in our county, when anyone from the unincorporated county calls 911 for a medical response, the ambulance will come from the city Fire & EMS, but the local VFD will be toned out to provide medical first response, and will nearly always beat the ambulance (and most time the deputies as well) to the scene. Those first responders will provide as much medical care as they are trained and allowed to do by local protocol. I have often been the first and only responder on scene for several minutes, sometimes doing CPR or staunching bleeding (altho more usually just finding the correct address, taking a medical history, and penning up all the dogs!). This is a pretty common set up (paid ambulance, volunteer first responders), but there are also many places where the volunteer FD provides ambulance service as well.
We have schools in our district, and other districts have statutorily off-limits places as well, and it is not unheard of for us to ride the ambulance to the (posted) hospital as well, assist the ambulance crew in route. Several people in our department have LTCs, and our only rule about it is no open carry on scene.
