From reporter Michael Tobin in the Emerald, here:
… In addition to being out of compliance with federal rules, the audit also found that some of the department’s firearms lack acquisition records. Of the 121 firearms UOPD acquired since 2012, 18 did not have records documenting their acquisition. Of the 18 firearms for which acquisition records could not be identified, 14 were “traded in for credit,” three were “converted from evidence to agency use,” and one is issued to a UOPD officer. The audit stated that the firearms without purchase records had been in the department’s inventory since the previous police chief and UOPD saw a complete staff turnover since that time. …
I wonder what would keep our government from trying to tyrannize us? Maybe if we all had the right to bear arms or something…
Our government has an army and an air force – they’re not afraid of armed citizens. They’re afraid of informed citizens. Guns just distract people and keep them from trying to take back real political power.
You think our government isn’t afraid of armed citizens? Seriously?
Do you honestly believe the army and air force are going to mindlessly follow orders to disarm citizens? A good % of them know exactly what they signed up for with their oath to uphold the Constitution, unlike the glad-hands that supposedly represent us.
I’m confused. Are you arguing that citizens need to be armed so they can resist a tyrannical government? Or are you arguing that it really doesn’t matter if they are armed or how effective they could be in pursuing an insurrection against the government, because the armed forces have sworn to uphold the Constitution and wouldn’t take their guns? (I’m presuming you’re referring to upholding the Second Amendment, as interpreted by the current culture of gun-owners.)
If the former, I agree with uomatters – our military wouldn’t have much trouble dispensing with all the wannabe militia members, (except for a few holdouts in the Idaho mountains). If the latter, I’m greatly encouraged; if we can count on our armed forces to uphold the Constitution, then there’s no reason for any of us to stockpile arms, as surely the military is as devoted to all the parts of the Constitution as they are to the Second Amendment, and our constitutional rights are guaranteed.
So in the first case owning guns is futile, and in the second case it’s unnecessary. Now that we’ve dispensed with the resisting-tyranny arguments, maybe we can talk about the real reasons people want to own guns.
Does the standard that overmatched “wannabe militia members” are foolish to resist overwhelming American military power extend to resistance fighters in Vietnam? Iraq?
In 2018, there were 992 reported gun deaths perpetrated by law enforcement in America. Does the objection to the “current culture of gun-owners” extend to law enforcement, or is it merely citizens that we should distrust with arms?
Does the “current culture of gun-owners,” include those on the left who agree with Marx’s warning that “Under no pretext should arms and ammunition be surrendered; any attempt to disarm the workers must be frustrated”?
Hey, I thought I was having an argument with a conservative, and an anarcho-syndicalist shows up! As for your questions:
I think there’s big difference between our country sending relatively small military forces halfway across the world to invade and try to dominate a foreign country, vs. fighting what would likely be a small-scale and highly disorganized insurrection at home.
I think the current very high levels of gun violence coming from our law enforcers is part of the same culture that drives private gun-worshipers, and is also partly a response to it. The police know that many people out there are heavily armed, and so they react excessively to any perceived threat, whether real or not.
And as far as I can tell, there are practically no leftists who are part of our gun culture – they clearly are not reading their Marx. The ADL estimates 3% of mass shooters are left wing extremists; antifas tend to just punch people.
And with this post I officially call this particular thread to an end. Tazers anyone?