No, because prohibition doesn't work.

Not for Alcohol.
Not for Cannabis.
Not for Guns either.

Should there be way fewer guns in general? Of course.

Should the process to obtain a gun legally be difficult? Of course.

Should LEOs be issued sidearms? FUCK NO.


Wanna hunt? Wanna shoot for recreation? Fine.

Just do it in a safe place.
Be properly trained.

Because:
"The only thing that stops a GOOD GUY with a gun"..

Is literally anyone else who wants a gun because they are ridiculous easy to get a hold of.

Here we go with generalizations again.

Let's completely forget the Air Traffic Controller comparison because it's just plain stupid.

http://www.planecrashinfo.com/cause.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_killings_by_law_enforcement_officers_in_the_United_States




Secondly, you've confirmed that cops can and will lie whenever they need to.

The number of "justifiable homicides" is skewed because cops will lie and plant evidence.
e.g. Walter Scott video shows the cop planting his tazer.

(well at least three cops- your buddy, you and slager)

We'll never truly know how many cases like this are covered-up.

So we'll never know how many victims truly "had it coming".



Thirdly, there's a complete difference between a "slip & catch error"..

And "accidentally" choking Eric Garner to death..

Or "accidentally" severing Freddie Grey's spine..

Or "accidentally" shooting Akai Gurley to death in a darkened stairwell that you were NEVER supposed to be in the fucking first place..


Those were NOT "mistakes", they were pure negligence and incompetence.. Full Stop.


Those "occasions" weren't few and far between.. they're monthly, weekly, if not DAILY occurrences.


If you don't like when society labels all LEOs as Bad Cops..

Stop making generalization, Lantern.

Because if anyone on here said:

"the vast major of police & soldiers who get killed had it coming"

You would flip your shit.




Seriously, I'm trying to be civil with you now.

But you keep saying crazy insensitive sociopathic shit.

No, why do you ask? Do you think i'm being insincere?

I made this same argument - in my long-winded way - in this comment just last week.

(as well as another comment previous to this that I'm not gonna search for)

I'm actually pretty polite and well-mannered when I'm not ranting, believe it or not.


The point being:

You hate when people talk badly about LEOs.
I hate when people talk badly about People of Color.

We both share that similar feeling.

You understand that not all black people are criminals. (i hope)
I understand that not all police people are criminals.

We both share that common ground. (as @kevingrr put it)

Here I am attempting to extend an olive branch and show you some respect..

And all I get in return is more mockery.


Oooh well, can't say I never tried to be friendly/make peace..

Do you even know what a sociopath is?


noun, Psychiatry.
1.
a person with a psychopathic personality whose behavior is antisocial, often criminal, and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience.

You causally mock the death & suffering of basically anyone who isn't a LEO on this site daily.

As the progressive treehugger hippie I am..

Why wouldn't I want you to learn some empathy and compassion?

The best way to gain understanding is thru share experience.

More Leo and addiction ... it's very hard to understand.


Second chances.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's primarily an anti-satellite missile system. They've built those before, but if it's the launcher itself they're putting into LEO, from there maybe it can fire sub-munitions that can hit something useful like geostationary satellites.

100 lbs to LEO for $1M: that's $10k/lb. Cheaper than the space shuttle, but a fair bit more than what the private launch folks (will eventually) launch for. Also the video doesn't show de-orbit or passivization of the 2nd stage, meaning this is a potential source of a lot of new space junk. Furthermore, since this is Darpa/military, it strikes me as a cover story for further weaponization of space.

I think the video is much fairer than the other video since it shows cops in bad situations and good situations. It is certainly not an apologia for LEOs.

"Not only does the action of Governments not deter men from crimes; on the contrary, it increases crime by always disturbing and lowering the moral standard of society." Leo Tolstoy

The thumbnail image for this video has been updated - thumbnail added by eric3579.

lucky760's reasoning is sound.

Anyone that has researched and/or trained on weapon on weapon defense, in this case knife vs. firearm knows the Tueller's Drill. It has been a standard for over thirty years. Basically,

The Tueller Drill is a self-defense training exercise to prepare against a short-range knife attack when armed only with a holstered handgun.
Sergeant Dennis Tueller, of the Salt Lake City, Utah Police Department wondered how quickly an attacker with a knife could cover 21 feet (6.4 m), so he timed volunteers as they raced to stab the target. He determined that it could be done in 1.5 seconds. These results were first published as an article in SWAT magazine in 1983 and in a police training video by the same title, "How Close is Too Close?"[1]
A defender with a gun has a dilemma. If he shoots too early, he risks being charged with murder. If he waits until the attacker is definitely within striking range so there is no question about motives, he risks injury and even death. The Tueller experiments quantified a "danger zone" where an attacker presented a clear threat.[2]
The Tueller Drill combines both parts of the original time trials by Tueller. There are several ways it can be conducted:[3]
The "attacker and shooter are positioned back-to-back. At the signal, the attacker sprints away from the shooter, and the shooter unholsters his gun and shoots at the target 21 feet (6.4 m) in front of him. The attacker stops as soon as the shot is fired. The shooter is successful only if his shot is good and if the runner did not cover 21 feet (6.4 m).
A more stressful arrangement is to have the attacker begin 21 feet (6.4 m) behind the shooter and run towards the shooter. The shooter is successful only if he was able take a good shot before he is tapped on the back by the attacker.
If the shooter is armed with only a training replica gun, a full-contact drill may be done with the attacker running towards the shooter. In this variation, the shooter should practice side-stepping the attacker while he is drawing the gun.
Mythbusters covered the drill in the 2012 episode "Duel Dilemmas". At 20 feet the gun wielder was able to shoot the charging knife attacker just as he reached the shooter. At shorter distances the knife wielder was always able to stab prior to being shot. (Wikipedia)

That a firearm, particularly a handgun, will instantly incapacitate an individual is not a working concept and is fallacious. Variables such as adrenaline and drugs are attributable. Shot placement is trumps. Anything but a CNS. central nervous system, shot is not efficacious in safely stopping the threat. Not an easy or sure target sans movement, stress, etc.

Law enforcement put their lives and safety in harm's way every day. They are not there to die needlessly. An individual with suicide by cop or a LEO's death in mind is a serious threat to be dealt with with prejudice.

By the way, research knife wounds vs. handgun wounds. There is much data, ER, medical examiner, law enforcement. The deadly seriousness of knife wounds are well documented.

Tasers...I would not want to risk my life behind one or anyone about whom I care.

Not entirely cut and dry.
+ Gun suicide fell
+ Mass shootings fell.
- Gun homicide in general didn't fall

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_Australia#Measuring_the_effects_of_firearms_laws_in_Australia

"Some researchers have found a significant change in the rate of firearm suicides after the legislative changes. For example, Ozanne-Smith et al. (2004)[33] in the journal Injury Prevention found a reduction in firearm suicides in Victoria, however this study did not consider non-firearm suicide rates. Others have argued that alternative methods of suicide have been substituted. De Leo, Dwyer, Firman & Neulinger,[34] studied suicide methods in men from 1979 to 1998 and found a rise in hanging suicides that started slightly before the fall in gun suicides. As hanging suicides rose at about the same rate as gun suicides fell, it is possible that there was some substitution of suicide methods. It has been noted that drawing strong conclusions about possible impacts of gun laws on suicides is challenging, because a number of suicide prevention programs were implemented from the mid-1990s onwards, and non-firearm suicides also began falling.[35]

In 2005 the head of the New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, Don Weatherburn,[36] noted that the level of legal gun ownership in New South Wales increased in recent years, and that the 1996 legislation had had little to no effect on violence. Professor Simon Chapman, former co-convenor of the Coalition for Gun Control, complained that his words "will henceforth be cited by every gun-lusting lobby group throughout the world in their perverse efforts to stall reforms that could save thousands of lives".[37] Weatherburn responded, "The fact is that the introduction of those laws did not result in any acceleration of the downward trend in gun homicide. They may have reduced the risk of mass shootings but we cannot be sure because no one has done the rigorous statistical work required to verify this possibility. It is always unpleasant to acknowledge facts that are inconsistent with your own point of view. But I thought that was what distinguished science from popular prejudice."[38]"

-scheherazade

I don't see what the big deal is about Leo winning an Oscar this year in my opinion he has had better performances and Scorsese has made better films. I didn't even finish the film I thought I was watching The Hangover got irritated and turned it off.

I did not know Peter O'Toole never got an Oscar. Bit of a shocker that one.

As for Leo he gets criticised for his shouty style which maybe works against him - he's ok but I've never been a fan.

Leos' the SHIT, Maynard