So I want to start this thread by saying that I am not an unabashed cop hater, I understand that they have a thankless, often impossible job. Dealing with the public on a daily basis at their worse is not something I could do. I respect law enforcement and the job they do. I think the "abolish the police" is one of the dumbest ideas to come from the left in a long time.
With that being said, I just wanted to start a discussion on some of the nuances of the current state of law enforcement in the U.S. to get the hides shake on it. Since I can't have this drunken conversation in a bar with my friends, let's try it here:
There are over 17,000 state and local law enforcement agencies in the U.S. Are you really telling me that 17,000+ agencies is absolutely necessary and there isn't any room for consolidation? The department of education and the EPA have SWAT units. Really? The FBI can't serve the role of enforcing federal laws?
The NYPD has an operating budget of almost $11 Billion. While privately funded, the NYPD operates in 12 different countries conducting counter terrorism operations. Isn't that what FBI, CIA, NSA, and really just the DNI are for? Is there no room for cost reductions in an $11 Billion budget. I saw last night that there are 27 cops posted on the BLM mural out in front of Trump Tower. Really? That's the best way to use resources, there is NO room for streamlining the $11 billion budget?
And from a 2A prospective, I've really been struggling with the idea of the "back the blue" movement. I like many 2A supporters think that the 2A is there for self defense as well as to protect against a tyrannical government. IMO, what's going on right now is pretty tyrannical. The couple in St. Louis MO that defended their homes from protesters using firearms, have since had their firearms confiscated and are facing felony charges. They defended their home against a mob of people, blatantly breaking the law after they called the cops with no response. Supposedly the cops were told to stand down. They were their own last defense and they chose to use a show of force to keep themselves safe. The local government has chosen to not prosecute any of the trespassing protesters who caused property damage, but instead prosecute the couple defending themselves. That seems pretty tyrannical to me.
When talking about fighting tyranny, fundamentally isn't it going to be law enforcement, the national guard, and the armed forces that are the army of said tyranny? It wasn't the prosecutor in St. Louis who served the search warrant to confiscate the firearms of that couple, it was the police. It has been reported that they did so begrudgingly, but it was cops that ultimately stripped a couples ability to defend themselves in a time of lawlessness just so a local politician could make a political statement.
How do other 2A supporters rationalize supporting the current "back the blue" movement? You do know that it is the blues job to come and take your right to defend yourself when the government want's them to right? With over 17,000 different departments and billions in funding, is there really no room to consolidate and reduce the funding of some police agencies? What do you think?
With that being said, I just wanted to start a discussion on some of the nuances of the current state of law enforcement in the U.S. to get the hides shake on it. Since I can't have this drunken conversation in a bar with my friends, let's try it here:
There are over 17,000 state and local law enforcement agencies in the U.S. Are you really telling me that 17,000+ agencies is absolutely necessary and there isn't any room for consolidation? The department of education and the EPA have SWAT units. Really? The FBI can't serve the role of enforcing federal laws?
The NYPD has an operating budget of almost $11 Billion. While privately funded, the NYPD operates in 12 different countries conducting counter terrorism operations. Isn't that what FBI, CIA, NSA, and really just the DNI are for? Is there no room for cost reductions in an $11 Billion budget. I saw last night that there are 27 cops posted on the BLM mural out in front of Trump Tower. Really? That's the best way to use resources, there is NO room for streamlining the $11 billion budget?
And from a 2A prospective, I've really been struggling with the idea of the "back the blue" movement. I like many 2A supporters think that the 2A is there for self defense as well as to protect against a tyrannical government. IMO, what's going on right now is pretty tyrannical. The couple in St. Louis MO that defended their homes from protesters using firearms, have since had their firearms confiscated and are facing felony charges. They defended their home against a mob of people, blatantly breaking the law after they called the cops with no response. Supposedly the cops were told to stand down. They were their own last defense and they chose to use a show of force to keep themselves safe. The local government has chosen to not prosecute any of the trespassing protesters who caused property damage, but instead prosecute the couple defending themselves. That seems pretty tyrannical to me.
When talking about fighting tyranny, fundamentally isn't it going to be law enforcement, the national guard, and the armed forces that are the army of said tyranny? It wasn't the prosecutor in St. Louis who served the search warrant to confiscate the firearms of that couple, it was the police. It has been reported that they did so begrudgingly, but it was cops that ultimately stripped a couples ability to defend themselves in a time of lawlessness just so a local politician could make a political statement.
How do other 2A supporters rationalize supporting the current "back the blue" movement? You do know that it is the blues job to come and take your right to defend yourself when the government want's them to right? With over 17,000 different departments and billions in funding, is there really no room to consolidate and reduce the funding of some police agencies? What do you think?