Yesterday we saw President Obama start his gun control push on the road in Minneapolis. While in Minneapolis Obama pushed Congress to enact new gun control measures including universal background checks, a ban on assault weapons, and a ban on high capacity magazines.
The one thing keyed on by Obama was the support for universal background checks. “We’re starting to see a consensus emerge about the action Congress needs to take. The vast majority of Americans, including a majority of gun owners, support requiring criminal background checks for anyone trying to buy a gun,” Obama said surrounded by police officers.
While Obama is correct in that there is broad support for requiring universal background checks, something I support as well, he went on to push for the big grab. “We should restore the ban on military-style assault weapons and a 10-round limit for magazines, and that deserves a vote in Congress because weapons of war have no place on our streets or in our schools or threatening our law enforcement officers. Our law enforcement officers should never be outgunned on the streets,” Obama said.
Outgunned on the streets? I’ve heard this before. The problem is that unless you are talking about a random patrol officer our law enforcement officers are not outgunned by any means. A recent article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution highlighted how militarized our local law enforcement departments are becoming through military surplus being handed down to police through a program called the 1033 program operated by the Department of Defense.
How militarized? Cobb county where I live has two armored trucks, 106 M16s, and eight m14s. That’s a hell of an arsenal!
So are law enforcement officers outgunned? I think not. Every time you hear such a notion, go reread this article in the AJC. The militarization of LEO’s isn’t limited to Georgia. It is happening across the nation.
