Posted on 03/02/2007 10:58:58 AM PST by kiriath_jearim
The nation's police chiefs have a serious problem. Their troops are being out-gunned, and to correct the situation taxpayers must increase law-enforcement budgets substantially or find some way to ban the circulation of weapons and ammunition meant for the battlefield _ mainly, semiautomatic assault rifles and armor-piercing bullets.
Because the latter alternative is not politically practical, the cost of law enforcement can be expected to rise considerably. And where citizens are unwilling to spend the money to equip their guardians with weapons and armor now readily available to criminals, the threat to themselves and those they hire to protect them is likely to increase proportionately. It's just that simple.
No matter how much evidence is supplied to back up their arguments and how loudly the associations that support them yell, the chiefs' chances of winning out against the insanity of the nation's gun culture are slim to none. Actually, make that none. The Maryland legislature currently is considering a bill to ban the semiautomatic rifles, and the opposition has been loud and persistent.
If you doubt this, the victories by the forces of destruction over those of common sense and responsibility are too numerous to count. This is a land where the right to traffic in firearms, no matter how dangerous to law and order, is protected by constitutional language designed for a militia carrying muskets and enforced by a self-appointed virulent lobby called the National Rifle Association. It purports to represent the nation's sports shooters, but in reality is the arm of the manufacturers and importers who profit handsomely from the carnage.
That's rough language, but to emphasize just how unforgiving are those who subscribe to the NRA's opposition to any restraints no matter the threat to the public welfare, one should consider the case of Jim Zumbo.
Until a few days ago, Zumbo was a revered figure in hunting circles, probably the best-known sports rifleman in America. Hunting and non-hunting enthusiasts alike avidly watched his television shows and read his columns about big-game treks and the wonders of the outdoors. Then Zumbo foolishly ventured the opinion that semiautomatic assault weapons really had no place in hunting. Moreover, he committed the sin (unforgivable in the eyes of the NRA and its members) of linking these weapons with the "T" word.
Now nearly everyone knows that, since 9/11, to mention that word (it stands for "terrorist," if you are from Mars) in a crowded room or anywhere else is to cause near panic and bring instant and severe punishment to the offender. That, of course, is just what happened to the former icon of shooters. His career was as shattered as though hit by a hail of bullets fired from an AK47. Within a relatively few hours, his column was canceled and his cable TV show eliminated. All this occurred despite a profuse apology from an obviously desperate Zumbo.
Would it be out of place here to suggest that this swift and unrelenting attack by the NRA on one of its own proves conclusively that Zumbo was right in suggesting that terrorism is not unknown to the gun lobby? After all, the NRA has been terrorizing its political opponents for decades, winning battle after battle by playing on the paranoia of its followers. As a result, the lobby has managed to foster a national armory of privately owned firearms that exceeds some 300 million, enough for every man, woman and child in America.
That is why the increasingly frantic efforts of law enforcers to win some sort of reasonable control over the kinds of weapons they face on the street are pretty much futile. Politicians want to be re-elected. To do something responsible like banning the weapons preferred by the Taliban and al Qaeda and other lawless groups who when they aren't pointing them at civilians or U.S. troops are shooting them in the air, isn't the way to stay in office.
Certainly Congress has pretty much given up, refusing to renew an expired law that banished military assault rifles. The outcry that protects the legitimate gun owner also protects the criminals, leaving federal and local agencies undermanned and unsupported in their efforts to find ways to keep them out of the hands of bad guys. So the bill now being argued in the Maryland legislature to ban the assault weapons at the behest of law enforcement probably doesn't have a prayer.
In the meantime, the intrepid hunter who wants to blast away at animals from bears to (as Zumbo complained) prairie dogs can do so with impunity. How sporting!
More liberal swill. Implying that the "NRA is a force for destruction" is equivalent to saying "global warming is a force for destruction"
Both totally laughable and absurd.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
I was about to say the same thing. Since when are police officers "troops?"
If they were "troops" that would mean we are living in a literal police state, etc.
This person knows nothing about any of the "assualt" rifles.
I want to know how many crimes were comitted with AR-15s, AK-47s, SKSs and other similar weapons which these guys want to take out of the hands of law abiding citizens.
Mr. Thomasson has strayed far, far away from his Hoosier roots.
For an investigative reporter, he sure lets his feeeeeelings show
"All this occurred despite a profuse apology from an obviously desperate Zumbo"
I would hardly call his first attempt a profuse apology. It was more along the lines of excuse making "I was tired after a long day of hunting".
This is a planned article and timed to go with Rep. Carolyn McCarthys (D-NY) bill, HR 1022, “to reauthorize the assault weapons ban, and for other purposes.” This is the same Carolyn McCarthy who introduced HR 297 on the first day of the new Congress, attempting the most massive expansion of the Brady Law since its 1993 passage. McCarthy’s murky definition of “assault weapons” notwithstanding, the legislation’s intent is to re-enact the 1994 Clinton gun grab, while adding a few million more firearms to the haul.
This one doesn't stop with the horrible "black guns" it bans semi-auto rifles and shotguns, ammo as well as parts to repair. If one needed proof of collusion between the press and the DNC you need look no further that this. You can expect more articles like this from "rooters" and the AP wire service. Next will come the three "entertainment news" services. Here we go again! Guess it's time to take out a loan and buy up all the toys I can before it hits.
And Zumbo got what he deserved as this article is a prime example. He helped start this. Now he is the alter boy of gun control? Circle the wagons as it will be hot and heavy on the legislative end.
What a crock of shiznit The idea that domestic LEA's are outgunned on the streets of America is a lie and ridiculous. Almost every county in the country has a SWAT type unit armed with armored vehicles, body armor, cuncussion grenades, and MP5's or other tactical automatic weapons. Some even have tanks and helicoptors.
It's a good thing that some politicians have a fear of the populace. The real dark days will come when they no longer fear us at all.
It's a good thing that some politicians have a fear of the populace. The real dark days will come when they no longer fear us at all.
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This is why the socialists HATE the Second Amendment. They fear the very reason it was included in the Bill of Rights.
You forgot old ladies and senior citizens' home poker parties.
And reading that makes me so very very happy. A veritable gun-rack of plenty.
More money is needed to better arm LEOs? End the WOD - a fraction of the savings can be used to finance any small-arms upgrade they want.
>Pennsylvania doesn't allow hunting deer with a semi-auto. I suspect because it's more sporting with a bolt or lever action.
>I'd prefer hunting deer with a larger caliber.(I hear they are great for varmints though.)
Jim Zumbo is right about one thing: I don't need an assault rifle to hunt. And, if he could show me the word "hunting" in the Second Amendment, or even in the entire Constitution, I'd throw mine in the river tomorrow.
BS. The police have access through the DOD converted M16's in semi auto. These same departments have access to full auto at much cheaper prices than what a citizen can get. Lastly they will not have any problem getting the LEO sign off to acquire said weapons if they want them.
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