Ihre Papiere, schnell!
Posted on 02/15/2008 10:42:46 AM PST by kiriath_jearim
As the widow and father of gunned-down Miami Police Det. James Walker stood at his side Thursday, Miami City Commissioner Marc Sarnoff called on Congress to bring back an assault weapons ban that ended four years ago.
Walker, who was off duty in the early morning hours of Jan. 8, and on his way to visit his wife, was shot dead by an AK-47 as he sat behind the wheel of his car in an alley in the 1700 block of South Glades Drive in North Miami Beach.
Andrew James Rolle, 20, was later arrested and charged with first-degree and attempted murder. Police believe he was trying to kill someone else in a dispute over a stolen gun.
In addition to Walker, three Miami-Dade officers have been shot -- one of them killed -- by assault weapons in the past year. ''Our police are outgunned and outmanned,'' Sarnoff said, with Miami Police Chief John Timoney and his command staff looking on. ``This is their weapon of choice.''
Sarnoff is pushing a three-point plan: He's urging citizens to send their Congressional leaders a signed letter his office drafted calling for the ban, he wants fellow commissioners to pass a resolution urging state and federal governments to pass a ban on such weapons, and he wants more stringent sentences for those found guilty of crimes while using assault weapons.
The commissioner also said he would sit down with the city attorney to try to draft legislation that would make the sale of assault weapons illegal in Miami.
Almost two months before Walker's death in November, Miami-Dade County commissioners urged their lobbyists to pressure Congress to reinstitute the ban that Congress let expire in 2004.
They were spurred by the September death of Miami-Dade police Officer Jose Somohano in South Miami-Dade at the hands of Shawn LaBeet's MAK-90.
Around the time the county moved on the ban, the head of the largest local police union also came out for a weapons ban, as did an influential state legislator who said he'd push for the state to enact a similar ban. All spoke of the unusually high number of rounds the weapon allows for, and weapons power.
''Their place is on the battle field, not in the city of Miami,'' Sarnoff said of assault weapons.
Timoney, who heads up an international agency of police chiefs and sheriffs, and has spoken publicly about an assault weapons ban, rattled off a series of numbers that showed an increase in local deaths caused by assault weapons since 2004, and an increase in the recovery of such weapons.
The chief said about 80 percent of Miami's homicides are now caused by guns, ''and when you start to get to 80 percent, there's an indication something is terribly wrong with local legislation,'' he said.
He also said his department has purchased 30 AR 15s -- a move he said he'd rather not have had to make -- to combat assault weapons on the streets.
Asked if banning such weapons would go against the Second Amendment to the Constitution, Timoney didn't hesitate.
''This has nothing to do with the Second Amendment. There is freedom of the press -- but we have libel laws,'' Timoney said. ''You can craft a bill that still gives people the right to bear arms,'' he said.
Right because if you ban them, no one will use them...just like at Columbine.
/s off
It’s getting damned close to the time.
This a$$ clown Sarnoff is my city representative. I have to congratulate him on one thing. This is the first time he has focused on anything related to crime. He is usually more concerned about property owners cutting down tress on their own property or trying to prevent Home Depot from opening their doors. The hippies really love this guy!
Ihre Papiere, schnell!
I forgot to add the Barf Alert to the title... sorry
The chief said about 80 percent of Miami’s homicides are now caused by guns, ‘’and when you start to get to 80 percent, there’s an indication something is terribly wrong with local legislation,’’ he said.
Yup, just pass some more laws and all of that crime will just disappear. Hmmmmm, howz about getting out there and offing some of these criminals? Oops, forgot about liberal judges. Mea Culpa.
Yeah, we might have to “go to the woods” sooner than I thought...
I don’t have Sarnoff, I have Sanchez, who may not be quite so bad. The problem is Timoney. He has been “gunning” for these bans for a long time (look where he came from!).
Notice the clever distortion by Timoney, who jumps from “assault weapons” to “guns” at the drop of a hat.
While tragic, there have been very few police officers who have been called by so-called assault weapons, two (now three I guess) in the past couple of years. Unfortunately. all seem to be in Miami.
Also, notice the distortion re: the large volume of fire by these weapons. They are deliberately confusing semi-automatic and automatic weapons. “I don’t think that word means what you think it means”, with apologies to Mandy Patinkin.)
I think we in Miami will be in for a challenging time here for awhile given Timoney’s attitudes and the recent events at NIU (on which of course they are trying to capitalize).
If only the jackboot in question would consider what percentage of what kind of people are pulling the trigger, he might be on the way to fixing things.
But we can’t have that now, we all know inanimate pieces of steel are the problem.
“Our police are outgunned and outmanned”
Aren’t cops allowed to purchase full auto versions of these “assault weapons”? So how exactly are they outgunned? Sounds like the problem is on the police commisioners plate.
As was said in Unforgiven:
Gene Hackman: “You just shot an unarmed man!!!”
Clint Eastwood: “Well he should have armed himself!!!”
Brilliant. Just brilliant.
If someone used a assault rifle to save a life, would you then ask NOT to ban them?
If someone uses a car to kill someone, do we ban cars?
If someone uses knife to kill someone, do we ban knifes?
Its against the Law NOW to murder someone, did that stop the person who created the offense?
No law will stop a person from committing a crime!!!
If it isn’t within the next five years there will only be night.
Yes but you have people ( many on here ) do not want officers to have full autos since they ( LEO ) are all about denying citizens rights and what not.
Sorry to hear about the officer
but
I gotta ask
What was he doing?
“he sat behind the wheel of his car in an alley in the 1700 block of South Glades Drive in North Miami Beach.”
Waiting for ‘the rest of the story’.
Actually, I don't think the officers having full auto is the problem. It's that ordinary citizens must jumps through hoops and pay dearly to own the same weapon.
My machine gun is in every way identical to an LEO's full auto weapon, but because Congress passed a 'law' in 1986, my gun costs 10X (no exagerration) what it costs a police department. Besides that I have to submit to a range of 'permissions' to exercise my right.
That's the rub, bub.
If we can just disarm all the people and confiscate all those guns, the police will be safe.
Buffoonery. Both of you.
Amazing! No mention of a perp, so the gun must have been acting alone.
This must be some kind of new alien technology.
I know...let’s ban bullets!
Miami is of course, anothe Dim stronghold like NYC and NJ. We here in FL are just lucky that the guns laws are state and not local controlled.
They always fail to mention this inconvenient fact.
“Yes but you have people ( many on here ) do not want officers to have full autos since they ( LEO ) are all about denying citizens rights and what not.”
That’s a seperate issue. What I’m talking about is the fact that if he’s outgunned as he claims, he (the commisioner) is to blame for that. All of those “assault weapons” he’s talking about are semi autos while his department has the ability to purchase full auto weapons. I doubt any of the weapons used in these killings were lawfully obtained class III permit holding full auto rifles.
I was in "Unincorporated Miami-Dade County" from 99-02, but my nabe is now "The City of Doral."
Broward County is far worse.
I’m glad you could afford it. I wish I could.
>Waiting for ‘the rest of the story’.<
The local pimp was late to pay his weekly tab?
The local drug dealer was late to pay his weekly tab?
One of the above decided that the weekly tab had risen above normal levels and made the decision to stop paying?
I dunno
Just seems odd to be sitting in an ally so late at night - if you on the way to visit someone.
Could be perfectly innocent
Or not.
It’s just that any odd behaviour - just before you are shot, well, it bothers me. I doubt we will ever hear the final (internal) report.....
> I doubt we will ever hear the final (internal) report.....
<
Of course not.
Yes it is.
Sorry but I could not help but chuckle when I read your reply.
The police are some of the worst marksmen in the world. Instead of Machine guns you might consider arming them with a bucket of sand to throw at the bad guys. That will prevent much of the property damage caused by the Police.
Semper Fi
An Old Man
I hear you. When I was LEO only 3 of us out of our class of 83 score above 90% on qualification several failed. Twice yearly on renewal several failed then too.
Also, this should not be a direct reflection on him, but I believe his son was busted for possession of a large amount narcotics in the Northeast sometime last year or the year previous.
Ex-actly my point!
That video is (1) an advertisement for 'shooting sports'--NOT--self-defense and (2) proof that talk of "going to the woods" is the same false after-the-fact bravado that will lose us the 2nd Amdmt.
That video is the WORST possible propaganda for keeping weapons, because it mingles the true utility of self-defense against criminals with meaningless 'shooting sports.'
The majority of voting households in America can also be swayed to give up a right they don't use (self-defense) if they are convinced it's just a matter of "olympic shooting sports-girl shooting a competition 22 rimfire." Hello? The smarmy anti-gunner lady in that video could use this video to make HER anti-gun point. Think about it from the sheeple's pov.
(2) The video starts with a parade of "60,000" disarmed 'sportsmen' as a warning. That's the aftermath. Talk of "going to the woods" is idiotic, and plays into their hands....because you talk about it as if THAT is when you're going to FINALLY ACT. No you will not.
If you aren't acting now out in the open to preserve your rights, then you're not going to notice some critical turning point and pack up the MREs and hideout in the woods for the rest of your life. Idiotic. These are public forums and any gun-grabber can use FR as an example of the "crank gun nuts" which leads public opinion to the conclusions you're worried about in the first place.
John Lott has done a patriot's job of defending the right of armed-selfdefense. That's how it's done.
You have to fight the gun-grabbers on their terms NOW, in the court of public opinion, or that's it. This is the last battle.
There will be no hiding behind trees, because you won't be hiding from the BATFeds, you'll be hiding from a majority of the public opinion which you let be created.
Are you aware that the FBI is currently lobbying Congress to start a DNA, retinal scan and facial recognition database on every CITIZEN in the US?
How far will we let them go?
I have heard more talk of the type you object to in the last year than I heard even in the early 90's when the "patriot movement" was very strong. Such talk may be ill advised but it would not be prudent to underestimate the amount of frustration with the Government out there. Even the tinfoil hat gang is talking about it - they usually avoid such discussions.
In many locales such as Miami the system is on the edge of collapse. Los Angeles now has large areas where the cops will not go except in force. There are other cities close to that or already there. Many border towns are on the edge. Some day soon it will happen - the question is how big and how deep will it be. Do you remember the Rodney King riots? The cops were never in control of that it just burned itself out before they could respond with enough force to stop it. New Orleans it took mercenaries to keep the lid from blowing off. We have cops using SWAT teams to invade citizens homes to investigate a bump on a kids head. How would you feel if that was your home?
Semper Fi.
Mad
I don't object to the chin-music...I object to that talk distracting people from the reality of the situation.
You and I are well aware of the self-defense problems in LA, during Katrina...during the next 9/11. I live out in the country...it is a MINIMUM 30 minutes for a sherriff deputy to show up out here -if- he's not in bed asleep!
What % of the NYT-reading, Oprah-watching, Idol watching or even freeping public really understands or accepts this?
Look at the confusion about that fellow in Houston who shot his neighbor's burglar. That should be A#1 example of 'can't rely on the police' individual ownership of guns. But look at it. He was protested. There was some kind of biker-defense confrontation in his defense....but where's the local prosecutor coming out with a press conference clearing the guy's name and warning criminals that burglary in an armed society is dangerous? Answer: He won't do it becuase he's an elected officer and it may not be a popular opinion/campaign issue even there.
Aha! But we -do- hear about the NIU punk kid who bought a clip from the same evil gun dealer from Va tech....politicians have to be thinking about banning certain clip sales by mail right this very second!!!
My point is that the LAST FIGHT is going to be in Congress, not based on logic, not based on human rights and founders' intent---it will be fought on popular, uninformed opinion, during a crisis, when gun owners will be at their most vulnerable.
When we get to that tight spot, being behind a tree is not going to save us----only---sadly---friends in Washington will be able to save America. sigh.
My rep out here knows my position. Does yours know your self-defence need? Or has the NRA sold him some idiotic nonsense about "sportsmen?"
Freedom is contained in four boxes: - the “Soap Box”; - the “Ballot Box”; - the “Jury Box”, and; - the “Cartridge Box”
The first is marginal today, the second is clearly broken, the third has been severely perverted.....
If our rights are relenquished via the idiots in DC, then we-have-no-further-recourse.
Talking about running around in the woods is idiotic bravado.
Once the sheeple believe that self-defense can't be provided by individual gun ownership, then they'll clamor for more police, more raids, more surveillance, more DNA databases...
Conversely, a popular exercised armed right of self-defense is a defacto political firebreak against all those bad things.
Claiming to keep our guns to defend ourselves from criminals is a persuasive argument, and it serves the effect of reducing the need for more police power.
Claiming to keep our guns to fight the government is dumb, futile, and provides a good propaganda target for the gun-grabbers.
Time will tell.
"Those who ignore history (and wait for time to tell) are doomed to repeat it."
The war is here, now.
Sure it's Berzerkeley, but....do you think the children of America today, other than your own, are much different?
In a decade or less these Obamanations will control the police and Congress, and if they can't understand the value of self defense etc, then no amount of running around in the woods will change our future.
Unless the US Army and National Guard and USMC turn against them, there will be no Civil War II, and if it comes to that God forbid, then the armed forces are not going to consider 'militia nuts' as anthing but liabilities.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.