Even in some of the most anti-gun states, there are groups that get exceptions to many restrictions. Police officers are often exempt from many gun control laws. They can buy stuff that you and I might not be able to, simply because of their status as law enforcement officers. They also get to keep those guns after they leave the profession in most cases.
And while police officers do an important job and many are outstanding in what they do, there shouldn't be a different set of rules for them.
Understand that I'm not anti-cop. My father retired as a local police officer, then went back into uniform to serve as the chief of police in a small town nearby. I grew up around law enforcement and so I know something that a lot of people on both sides might not want to hear. Cops are people.
Because they're people, there are good and bad individuals who wear a badge.
This comes up because of this case out of Connecticut.
NEW LONDON, CT — A judge has ordered a police officer accused of assaulting his girlfriend to stay away from the woman and surrender any weapons he has, according to The Day of New London.
Julio Gil-Martinez, 29, of New London, was arrested Saturday on a warrant and charged with first-degree unlawful restraint, second-degree strangulation, second-degree threatening, third-degree assault, and interfering with an emergency call, New London police said in a news release.
The arrest came after a victim went to the Waterford Police Department to report the incident, which was determined to have happened at a home in New London, according to police.
Gil-Martinez is currently on administrative leave, but this sort of makes the point about police officers.
They should be the best among us, but the truth is that they're not. Some of the best among us become law enforcement officers but that same profession is attractive to all kinds of people who probably shouldn't wear a uniform of any kind beyond a prison jumpsuit.
Now, I'm not saying Gil-Martinez is guilty. That's for a court to decide and if he is, he deserves to rot in a cell for a good long time. He's really not the point here, though.
The point is that police officers aren't a special class that's above reproach. They're people.
So why do so many gun control laws exempt them, particularly with regard to what they do while off the job?
I get that they may face certain threats because of their job that many others never will--they do make enemies, after all--but some of us make enemies just fine without a badge. I mean, I write political commentary. Do you think I haven't been threatened? Sure. Does that mean political commentators should get an exemption as well?
The answer from your average anti-gunner would likely be that no, we shouldn't.
So then why do the police? Don't get me wrong, I have no issue with cops having guns. I have no problem with them having all the guns. I just don't like the double standard.
Here's a thought: If police need special privileges in order to protect themselves from their enemies, then why not just lift the restrictions so that police offers stop getting special treatment and others can then defend themselves?
Unfortunately, for anti-gunners, that's not acceptable.
See, the issue isn't guns. It's just guns in the hands of people who aren't drawing a government paycheck.
