-NavyLCDR-
Very valid points. However, I will argue your definition of deterrence with you. Deterrence is a crime that is not committed based upon the circumstances, such as a police officer walking a beat, an armed citizen defending their home, or etc. What you are describing is the crime being pushed from yourself to another less prepared victim. Granted, there will never be such a thing as 100 percent deterrence because dirtbag is going to always be a dirtbag. However, if your reasonings are for DETERRENCE as you have suggested by asking me to please read up on then you should also be concerned about the individual that is about to be murdered or raped. Because you are not pursuing this individual you find to be suspicous, I doubt your intention is true deterrence. To me it sounds more like intimitadition of self defense would be your reasoning for OC, which is YOUR right.
And if you believe people are NOT attacked for their firearms, I think you are sadly mistaken.
Additional thoughts:
I typically will not bother with an online discussion from a LEO because I have some what of a bad attitude with answers that lack merit and tend to lean to belligerent responses. I do not like to be that way with folks I respect for the work they do so understand you are getting BOTH here.
1. Cops to not stop crime, they deter it, criminals simply wait until a cop is not around and find another victim, aka it is the same. Reference the recent attacks on targeted police officers for home robberies and a couple of weeks later the personal cars of officers parked at the station while on duty, I think he got 10 or more before he got caught.
2. I am responsible for myself, if I deter crime from happening to me, I am all good. I am not a cop, I did not choose to chase and capture bad guys and I am not going to do so, if others choose to leave themselves in a position that they are to become his victim, that is their responsibility for the choices THEY made. When it happens the police will respond and report it to the court system, after that, its a toss up, they will go in a cage at a training ground for future criminal activity or will be set free because mommy and daddy were not nice to him as an infant. Following that the LEO will debate his job as he sits writing the report while watching them walk out the door of the jail AGAIN wondering WTF he even bothers. (more of that respect stuff right there for not just dropping the hammer every time you deal with child abuse, you are a better man sir or ma'am)
3. Visably armed citizen as a potential victim? Sorry sir, the criminals say it 100% the opposite, seems they know there are huge rule differences for you and I. As a LEO you have the rules of engagement you must follow in order not to watch them walk, we simply must be in fear for our lives. Your goal is to CATCH the threat, ours is simply eliminating it. Now that does not mean one can blast at random, but it does mean the criminals are fully aware that you are going to be held to huge tough standards and a citizen is not aka a citizen will shoot first aka criminals have no desire to be aerated, they have said as much.
3.B. It simply does not happen, it gets said on the internet a lot but to my knowledge there has been ONE citizen who has had this happen. It happens to COPS a lot. Why? Because the rules are different for cops, you guys close the distance and apprehend, you take on the worst of the worst and get yourselves in very close proximity where opportunistic persons try and disarm to flee. From LEO feed back that is honest and straight, it is a 50/50 toss up on this one, criminal attempts and drunk idiot attempts, both suck for you guys because neither have a sound understanding of the repercussions of the action.
All in all, nope, criminals do not target the armed and no, while they do steal guns, they like to do it from empty houses and cars, not scared citizens who may begin blasting without self control training. Getting guns for crime is EASY, you can buy one 1 block from my work easier than I can buy one from Mikes guns because there is no 4473, there is no receipt and the criminal selling it does not care if it is a straw or not, the responsible do and gun laws regulate only the responsible.
I offer that citizens make assumptions about police attitudes on such things because they do not walk in the same shoes and the same goes for COPS. Just because a criminal or drunk is willing to go for your weapon does not mean they are going to take the same risk for ours. Yours is a key to freedom and escape. Ours is nothing more than monetary value and the risk is much much higher that the firearm could indeed be used before it would be in the hands of a trained LEO.
Respect and kudos for doing the job, but your view seems as skewed as the view of the cop haters is as well. They are totally different perspectives and from your comments so far on this thread IMHO yours does not apply.
It is just an opinion, as is yours and was put forward, food for thought, do with it what you will and by all means remain safe, you do a job in a way I never could.
LMTD
, I will make it again
