Know why American Police are so heavily armed?

[CavaliersFTW]

Because American Citizens can legally arm themselves. Heavily. The police, by nature, need to be able to respond to a heavily armed dangerous citizen, it's what we pay them for.

Interesting fact: Police are citizens too! They've just trained, and swore to serve and protect the rest of us citizens who obey the law peacefully from the dangerous few that don't. So you want to flash statistics of countries like the UK around and how many UK citizens have been shot by police, well, citizens aren't allowed to own guns in the UK... so their police don't carry them either. You can own heavy anti-material weapons in the U.S. you can get permits for almost anything depending on where you live. Our police have to be adequately prepared for the instances where some asshole with no regard for human life gets a hold of that kind of stuff.

For better or worse whenever dangerous weapons are allowed in the hands of citizens, police need to be armed accordingly, and weapon related accidents and incidents are going to happen.

So long as U.S. Citizens have gun rights, which is an entirely seperate topic, I whole-heartedly want to be protected by police forces that CAN respond to situations like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZg4mcYkIwU

[KingBeasley08]

Honestly, if it was a choice between no one having guns and police and citizens have guns, I'd take the second one.

F*ck the haters, the second amendment kicks ass

[CavaliersFTW]

Honestly, if it was a choice between no one having guns and police and citizens have guns, I'd take the second one.

F*ck the haters, the second amendment kicks ass
Some posters on here, I don't know if they aren't from the U.S. or what, but they've got this idea like our police are super unfairly militant and need to be disarmed down to stun guns and pepper spray or something. When I know several people from my old hometown who carry assault rifles right under the seat of their truck. I grew up in a hick town where it was/is normal. And some of these people are NOT who I'd call stable individuals. As long as citizens can freely carry weapons like that, police need to be capable of counteracting them accordingly if (heaven forbid) they ever needed to.

[CavaliersFTW]

Why?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SPl9FvSrck

Because don't you think that looks fun?

[Kblaze8855]

As I said:


Our police are far more afraid due to our criminals being far better armed.

[Dictator]

Being heavily armed has nothing to do with police abusing their powers.

[SCdac]

As long as criminals own guns en masse, it's totally understandable to let law abiding citizens of age defend themselves with the same amount of force. Hell, when somebody goes the extra step of registering for a concealed carry license, they typically become even less likely to commit a crime.. at least in Texas. CHL holders, in some statistics I was looking at, made up way less than 1% of the felonies within a certain year (think it was 2012). Generally speaking, people who legally own guns and look after them responsibly are not the people America should be worried about.

[CavaliersFTW]

Being heavily armed has nothing to do with police abusing their powers.
True, but different topic entirely. I'm just making sure it is understood why our police are as armed as they are.

Also KBlaze makes an interesting point. A good portion of lethal incidents might indeed be caused by fear and can't just be pigeon holed into abuse of power. Accidents are a statistical fact, and when people are armed, citizen police or otherwise, the more lethal the accident.

[chips93]

Honestly, if it was a choice between no one having guns and police and citizens have guns, I'd take the second one.

do you not think that the second one is inherently more dangerous for everyone?

[KingBeasley08]

do you not think that the second one is inherently more dangerous for everyone?
Don't really think so. Majority of murders are in the US are by violent criminals. Don't see why I gotta lose my guns cause some shit bag thugs in Chicago are killing each other

Fun fact: Chicago has the strictest gun control laws in the country. So much for it working :lol

DC has actually improved since handguns became legal. Most of these gun control don't look at violent crimes. They hear a story of someone getting killed in Middle (White) America and that's when they start to panic.

[DeuceWallaces]

I would prefer taking away guns from the police and the people.

[SCdac]

People aren't worried about those people, they're worried about guns killing them. Who cares if a few responsible people get f*cked over? That happens with basically everything. Some people can use cocaine responsibly, doesn't mean it should be legal.

If it's your aim to protect people, it's better to stop 50 morons from carrying guns than it is to keep one responsible person carrying a gun.

few responsible people? what do you mean by that? there are millions of responsible gun owners in the US. Multiple generations. I'm all for gun ownership and naturally I take advantage of the right to own. and I'm just a normal dude, not some gun toting cowboy or something

As far as police weaponry, which I didn't really comment on, how armed they are should be relevant to the situation and city. Handgun at the least, more powerful weapons as an incident becomes more dangerous and involves the masses. With over 1.4 million people in my city, and cities much larger than that in the US, there's no way civilians could possibly police themselves. Having said that, police becoming highly militarized is a genuine problem.

It's questionable whether super strict gun laws work as intended. I've seen evidence supporting both sides of the argument. Criminals won't give a shit either way tho, they tend to target the weak and unarmed.

[DeuceWallaces]

What's natural about owning a gun.

[ace23]

Fun fact: Chicago has the strictest gun control laws in the country. So much for it working :lol
And your control group is...? You think it'd be better off with looser laws? Why? Chicago is renown for its gangs, so of course homicide rates will be high regardless of the laws.

[SCdac]

What's natural about owning a gun.

what's natural about protecting yourself, or survival? ... everything

We don't live in utopia. if we did, this wouldn't even be a discussion

[DeuceWallaces]

what's natural about protecting yourself, or survival? ... everything

We don't live in utopia. if we did, this wouldn't even be a discussion

Just noticed your location. Never mind.

[KingBeasley08]

I mean a few responsible people would be f*cked over if guns were banned. Big deal. In a country of over 300 million people, a few million is just a few. Multiple generations have nothing to do with it... Multiple generations of people have stopped gay marriage.

I know a guy who's been in active duty in Afghanistan. He came back, bought an AR15, a rifle and a shotgun. He lives in a shitty part of town and just keeps them under his bed. He's properly trained and I personally trust him; but he's one janky door lock away from 3 guns being used by criminals or getting killed himself. That's stupid. Most people are stupid and are less trained than him.



That is such a poor argument that criminals won't care about the laws and run rampant with guns. They do illegal shit now and don't care. So how is it going to change? Are they going to care less? They go for easy targets regardless of whether that person may own a gun or not.



You can't protect yourself with a bat? You can't protect yourself by having a network of friends and family that you trust and live with? You can't protect yourself with an alarm system? You can't protect yourself by living in a nicer area, or a nicer city? You can't protect yourself by being vigilant? You can't protect yourself by owning a dog? You can't protect yourself by buying bigger and better locks? You can't protect yourself by having a fully charged phone, or a landline, or a signal booster? You can't buy better lights? You can't buy a gate or a fence?

Alligators don't have guns and those f*ckers have been around a lot longer than us.

You're right, we don't live in a utopia; but it won't ever be one if there are still guns kicking around.
All those guns your buddy has make up like 5% of the gun related deaths in America. The rest is handguns (this includes suicide). So I'm just wondering? Is it assault rifles that should be banned or all guns in general?

[SCdac]

Your arguments sound childish and desperate and not in tune with reality prof murder, a reality which is gritty and unfair. Thankfully I don't have to rely on you to ensure MY safety. Hell, can barely rely on the cops. I live completely alone, so no I can't rely on a "network of friends and family" to suddenly come to my aid at 3 in the morning when some perp breaks in, etc lol (why you're assuming I don't have all that other stuff, idk). Look, this is not a partisan or extremely polarized issue imo. Most people support gun ownership. My extremely liberal mother and family grew up around guns and they're fine with that. Legal gun ownership has been around for hundreds of years. This is not something that suddenly became a talking point after Newtown lol

"Alligators don't have guns and they've been around a lot longer than us"

are you serious man? :oldlol:

[DeuceWallaces]

It might not be partisan in Texas but it is elsewhere. I think my dad has a shotgun buried in the basement. No friend, family, or acquaintance I have owns one.

It's not really necessary.

[KingBeasley08]

Honestly, banning guns in the US would be one of the worst decisions ever. Could rival the War on Drugs in terms of how stupid it is

[SCdac]

I'd rather have one and not need it, than need it and not have one. And that's the bottom line. I respect individual preferences (to not have one), just like people should respect mine. They sit in my gun safe untouched and I hope it stays that way. But my life is too important to me to be bogged down by PC bullshit and anti-gun paranoia.

[SCdac]

"Two years after Sandy Hook, poll finds more support for gun rights"

http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-82283254/

Bigger issues to worry about, if you ask me: poverty, drug addiction, unemployment, women's and minorities rights, failing education system, and more. These issues are large contributors to much of the domestic violence we see in society.

[Eric Cartman]

Teachers, social workers and nurses should have guns.

It's common sense.

[dude77]

that fella, who had his wife and daughter raped and killed while he was in the house with them, probably wished he had a gun at that moment .. or the wichita kids .. better safe than sorry

[9erempiree]

I disagree with the OP because a normal police officer isn't heavily armed. He has his side weapon and usually another shotgun in the car.

They are not heavily armed unless you count the Swat team and there is a reason why the swat team is heavily armed.

[9erempiree]

I am pro-2nd amendment and we should be allowed to protect ourselves, also the 2nd amendment was put in place to combat tyranny. I know, many people will say that is some old school shit but you never know.

With all the police brutality that is going on, shouldn't one fear tyranny?

If they take away our guns, what's next? They are going to start taking other things away.

[9erempiree]

What did I say that was so wrong?

Generally people are stupid.
Guns kill people.
Criminals are bad if guns exist or if they don't.

Yeah, sure sounds like I done failed out of school.



If you have all that shit I listed, you don't need a gun. You really think a dude is going to hop a 6 foot fence, get blasted by motion sensor lights, set off an alarm by breaking a window, and then still come into your house while you're home to steal a bottle of vicodin? No. They'd go down the block to the people who left their f*cking window open. These aren't Ocean's 11 thieves, they're smash and grabbers.

How long have you had a gun? How many times have you used it on a threat? 0 times? Oh cool, must be useful.

I don't care if a properly trained person has a gun, just like I don't really care if they drive a Hummer. It's just unnecessary 99.9% of the time.


The alligator shit was clearly a joke... But 0 things in the world have guns and they've done alright. Don't act like the world would fall apart if they magically disappeared.

What part of Utopia do you live in? I want to be your neighbor.

[InfiniteBaskets]

I am pro-2nd amendment and we should be allowed to protect ourselves, also the 2nd amendment was put in place to combat tyranny. I know, many people will say that is some old school shit but you never know.

With all the police brutality that is going on, shouldn't one fear tyranny?

If they take away our guns, what's next? They are going to start taking other things away.

What difference does having a gun on you make when a police officer is abusing his power?

The right to bear arms was cool when the colonies just needed a few bayonets to break off from the British.

Now you're gonna have to legalize citizen drones, tanks, and if the other thread is any indication, laser guided shark robots for us to have any chance to fight back against the US government as a whole - not happening.

These days the 2nd amendment just means allowing people who grew up around guns to continue feeling at ease. But in all honesty, if someone really had it out for you and wanted to kill you. It's a lot easier with both of you having guns than neither owning one.

[dannywpt]

Where I live neither people or police carry guns at all. Works out just fine. Keep it simple.

[KyrieTheFuture]

The British thing isn't about guns, it's about everything being under CONSTANT surveillance so people can't get away with shit

[GimmeThat]

Because of feminism

[Im Still Ballin]

The 2nd amendment was ****ing written centuries ago

That being said; Criminals will ALWAYS be criminals. They will get their hands on guns one way or another. Its not the ease of access which makes criminals... It's something deep inside.

Same goes for school shootings, but easy access of weapons for a minor really isn't good

[9erempiree]

It's funny how smart folks like me and prof realize guns are idiotic and harmful to society

And dum people like beaz and others think guns are super Rad

Typically smart people are correct more often than dum people, right?

It is also people like you that are naive to think we are living in a safe society. My arguments for gun ownership is much more valid than your idea of it harming society.

You own a gun to protect yourself and loved ones. It's like an insurance policy. It is better to have one in a safe place but accessible, than not to have one at all.

[Kiddlovesnets]

Being heavily armed has nothing to do with police abusing their powers.

First of all, the police do not always abuse their power, sometimes their actions of shooting down the victims are reasonable, like in the Michael Brown case. Second, in a country in which every citizen can hold a gun, the police are naturally more serious and nervous, since they can easily got knocking out by a criminal holding a gun. You do not know if the suspect is taking out his wallet or his gun when he puts his hands in his pocket.

[9erempiree]

First of all, the police do not always abuse their power, sometimes their actions of shooting down the victims are reasonable, like in the Michael Brown case. Second, in a country in which every citizen can hold a gun, the police are naturally more serious and nervous, since they can easily got knocking out by a criminal holding a gun. You do not know if the suspect is taking out his wallet or his gun when he puts his hands in his pocket.

First and foremost you need to word your thoughts more correctly. As I have bolded.

Yes, every citizen can carry a gun legally if they went through the proper background check and procedures to do so. Also, cops are not nervous of the legally concealed weapons holder.

They are nervous about criminals who can easily obtain a gun illegally, which means on the black market or the streets.

What you are stating is that the cops are nervous of normal citizens that can carry guns which is far from the truth.

[ILLsmak]

As I said:

I wonder, really...

Imagine if police, as in average officers, didn't have guns, yet the same penalty was still there for killing a cop. Then, they'd have special guys to go hunt down the people who are killers/cop killers. I wonder if that would be bad. Or, that cops could get their guns during high alert...

I just think cops are a bit too gun happy. They are also seriously on a power trip. Power tripping people don't need guns, and as said yes police are citizens, too. They are also people. Average people, for the most part. The amount of responsibility given to a cop... I don't think they deserve it.

If they are afraid, then they need to start hiring cops that can fight. If you pull a gun on an officer and you get the death penalty then gg. The only issue is that since cops can be shit people, they may lie about that, too. So maybe it'd have to be a shooting thing. Of course, some cops would still carry guns... so really, I dunno. haha. It's a bad situation.

Cops need to get in better shape. They need to take younger men as the ones who go out and patrol. Seen plenty of 60 year old guys as cops. If someone decides they are gonna kill a cop, not sure if them being armed is going to matter. Unless they were stupid about how they did it.

-Smak