Some folks will blame the ATF no matter what. Others will blame the Branch Davidians. I believe both sides screwed up. The ATF could have simply sent someone to peacefully knock, present the search warrant, and request compliance. The Branch Davidians could have submitted to the search warrant and/or surrendered after the first round of shooting.
There’s a Free Republic meme going around that ALL law enforcement are jack booted thugs. That’s not true, and I suspect a lot of it comes from the libertarians. I’m not saying there aren’t any jack booted thugs running around. There are. What I’m saying is there are good people in law enforcement, too.
Do I think we need to demilitarize the police? Oh, yeah. Do we need to crack down on the ATF and other federal agencies? Yes, definitely. Do we need to demonize and blame ALL law enforcement for the actions of some. No. We don’t.
Getting back to the point of this thread, I don’t know what I would do if I was a Connecticut gun owner. I believe in the rule of law, but what should I do when government itself becomes the lawbreaker (in this case, breaking the 2nd Amendment)? It’s a tough call, and I don’t blame gun owners who complied with the law or those who refused to comply. I wouldn’t raise a finger to help Connecticut confiscate anyone’s guns, but I don’t know if I would go so far as to disobey the law myself.
Yes, we do. None of the things you mention have as of yet been addressed in any meaningful way, and I suspect they never will unless forced. Further it is likely the number of good ones is far less than you believe.
Until such time as the good ones police their own we may as well treat them the same way they have been treating the citizens: No respect, guilty of something until proven otherwise, ignoring the laws themselves.
Us vs. them is their attitude, they have asked for this.
Probably a goodly number, but how do they react to the presence of the gestapo wannbes in their ranks? With silence. When every peasant shot and killed is a "good shoot"* how do you separate the thrill killers with a badge vs the honest cops?
*In the last ten years only two incidents resulted in criminal prosecution of police for killing citizens. One was the danziger bridge incident in New Orleans, and two the Kathryn Johnson incident in Atlanta. In neither case were the police prosecuted for murder, but things like violation of oath of office which calrries a much lesser sentence.
“It’s a tough call, and I don’t blame gun owners who complied with the law or those who refused to comply. I wouldn’t raise a finger to help Connecticut confiscate anyone’s guns, but I don’t know if I would go so far as to disobey the law myself.”
Well, the kapos had a better chance of surviving the holocaust, so if you want to be a kapo... I think that you might want to review the famous Solzhenitsyn quote or Sam Adams quote and let the chains lie lightly on you.
There’s a Free Republic meme going around that ALL law enforcement are jack booted thugs.
I think you’re playing straw-man rhetoric because you know your view is a loser.