Yesterday a man opened fire in a Portland Oregon mall killing two and injuring one. He yelled out that he was "the shooter", then proceeded to open fire for a few moments before killing himself. Bringing back fresh memories of the Aurora Colorado shooting this is just another step in the march towards TSA agents searching you before you enter any public location. You want to go to a football game, or the mall, the movies, or a city park, sooner than later you're going to have to walk through a metal detector, backscatter x-ray machine or a good old fashion pat down just to enter.
Whether these recent shootings are legitimate mental breakdowns or instigated fear tactics orchestrated by the federal government is up for debate. What is also becoming a large part of our public conversation is whether citizens should be allowed to own weapons at all. I want to know why the the conversation about whether police officers are allowed to carry guns is never brought up in this country?
The majority of officers doing their routine beat will never fire their gun, they are dealing with domestic disputes, disorderly conduct, shoplifting, and a whole gauntlet of situations where having a gun makes everyone involved less safe. When dealing with a handicapped schizophrenic man in a wheelchair does a gun ever have to come in to play, when chasing down a shoplifter is pulling a weapon really necessary and when subjugating someone to a side of the road DWI test must your hand be readied on your weapon, just in case?
In my humble opinion the only officers allowed to carry weapons should be SWAT and officers who routinely deal with gang related violence. If you are an officer walking down main street surrounded by children and merchants, there is absolutely no reason to be carrying a weapon. You are there to keep the peace not disturb it with gunfire. The video above is a perfect example of why cops, on and off duty, should not carry weapons.
Disarm the Police!
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